Beyond the Atlantic Roar: A Study of the Nova Scotia Scots 9780773581197

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Beyond the Atlantic Roar: A Study of the Nova Scotia Scots

Beyond the Atlantic Roar: A Study of the Nova Scotia Scots D. Campbell R. A. M acLean

The Carleton Library No. 78 M cC lelland and Stew art L im ited

T H E C A R L E T O N L IB R A R Y A series o f C an ad ian reprints and new collections o f source m aterial relating to C an ad a, issued un d er the editorial supervision o f the Institute o f C anadian Studies o f C arleton University, O ttaw a. D IR E C T O R

O F TH E IN STITU TE

£

'

Davidson D unton G E N E R A L ED ITO R

M ichael G narow ski EX E C U T IV E ED ITO R

Jam es H . M arsh 6 - «A / ED IT O R IA L BOARD

B. C arm an Bickerton ( H isto ry) D ennis Forcese (Sociology) J. G eo rg e Neuspiel (Law ) T hom as K . Rym es ( E conom ics) Derek G . Sm ith (A n th ro p o lo g y1 M ichael S. W hittington (P olitical S cien cel

© M cC lella n d a n d S tew a rt L im ited. 1974 A LL R IG H TS R ESERV ED

0-7710-9778-6 The C anadian Publishers M cClelland and Stew art Lim ited 25 H ollinger R oad, T o ro n to 374 P rinted and bound in C anada

Table of Contents A c k n o w le d g e m e n ts In tro d u c tio n

vii

1

1 E m ig ra tio n : Im m ig ra tio n 2 S e ttle m e n t 3

35

E x p a n sio n a n d E x o d u s

4 E d u c a tio n 5 C u ltu re

120 1 6 9 -—

6

R e lig io n

7

P o litics

193 — 236

8 C o n c lu sio n B ib lio g ra p h y In d e x

7

315

__ 281 297

76

Acknowledgements This research has been carried on, with the tools of history and sociology, in an attem pt to understand “ o u r roots.” T hroughout the course o f this book we have been encouraged by a num ber of like-m inded people, all of whom unfortunately, cannot be singled out for thanks. The staffs o f various archives, the Public Archives o f Nova Scotia, the Public Archives o f C anada and Pine Hill Divinity College gave valuable assistance. W e wish to single out Miss Phyllis Blakeley of the Public Archives o f N ova Scotia, Sister M a rg aret B eaton, c . n . d . , A rch iv ist, C ap e B reto n ian a, Sydney, and D r. E. A. Betts o f Pine Hill for special thanks. Library personnel in a num ber of archives and research centres, H arvard, Q ueen’s, Berkeley, N ational L ibrary o f Scotland, Register House, E d in b u rg h , School o f S cottish S tu d ies, E d in b u rg h , M arine School, G reenwich; and most especially, St. Francis X avier U ni­ versity, co-operated most willingly with us. It was a pleasure and a distinct advantage to meet and talk with the Reverend D. M acLean Sinclair, a Scottish scholar in his own right and a descendant o f the Bard M acLean. W e are anxious also to acknowledge our indebtedness to another Celtic scholar, Professor Charles D unn o f H arvard University, a u th o r of th at delightful work, The H ighland Settler. O ther scholars to w hom we are indebted include R everend A . A. Johnston, l l . d . , Archivist and H istorian for the Diocese o f Antigonish; Sister M argaret M acD onell, C . N . D . , P h .D ., D epartm ent o f H istory, St. Francis X avier U niversity; M ajor c . i . n . M acLeod, m . a . , C hair­ m an, D epartm ent o f Celtic Studies, St. Francis X avier U niver­ sity, to Miss Rosemary H utchison of South U ist for her transla­ tions o f M a c Talla; and to D r. Alan G . M acPherson o f the D epartm ent o f G eography, M em orial University o f N ew found­ land, whose criticisms and suggestions on Scottish emigration have been very helpful. W e benefitted from consultations with Reverend A . D . M acK innon o f Little N arrow s, C ape Breton, one of the few G aelic scholars in N ova Scotia, and “ Little” Alec M acLean, H istorian of W ashabuckt and Victoria C ounty. O ur view from M arble M ountain and discussion with M argaret M acPhail helped us to appreciate her Loch Bras d'O r. and the C ape Breton Presbyterians m ore than would have been the case otherwise. W e owe much to many local historians whose w orks are cited h erein: M acD ougall, R an k in , P a tte rso n , W hidden a n d M ac­ D onald, to nam e only a few. T he elderly notables of Scottish

Vlll

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descent, resident in Eastern N ova Scotia, who granted interviews, provided kindly assistance, for they gave what the w ritten word could not give; they m ade us feel the Scottish culture as it was lived over the last hundred years ar d beyond. The two sum m ers spent in interviewing these civilized people, many o f whom have passed on, were easily the most enjoyable p art o f the study. It is for them and for those they represen that this story is w ritten, Both the C anada Council and t le St. Francis Xavier G rants C om m ittee provided us with the fuhds needed to carry o u t this research. We thank them for their confidence, and trust that this w ork is justification for it. W e appreciate the high standard of work o f our typist, N ora Wicks, and we thank those who reac all o r p art o f our story, and those who did not give up on us when everything slowed to a crawl. Betty M acLean perform ed his last-nam ed service with distinction. Finally, we express our ppreciation to D r. and Mrs. J. J. Stanton o f Halifax, w hose hospitality during archival visits m ade o u r task b oth pleasant and m en o rab le. T he m istakes and the biases are Qurs. W e hope they are few.

Beyond the Atlantic Roar* A Study of the Nova Scotia Scots, 1800-1940 Introduction It is characteristic o f people everywhere th at they seek to find or develop situations in which they find meaning between themselves and their environm ent. N ova Scotians o f Scottish descent share this desire to view themselves in som e perspective and to under­ stand their story as som ething o th er than a footnote in C anadian history. A n attem pt is m ade in the following chapters to show the m eaning and interest connected with their folk culture and, through historical and sociological m ethods o f research, to dem ­ onstrate in a general way the aw akening o f this sense o f perspec­ tive. H ere, we stress the w ord “ general,” for in this m arriage o f history and sociology we are b u t finding our way. Those who seek a straight presentation from one discipline or the o th er are bound to be disappointed. T he areas covered are necessarily selective, for there are other facets and areas o f this folk culture th at might have been included. O ur hope is to suggest, to prom pt, and above all to raise questions concerning the im portance o f ethnic regional groups in the determ ination o f the C anadian mosaic. In attem pt­ ing to trace the historical developm ent o f cultural segm ents one discovers that there is always much which rem ains uncertain. The arrangem ents and com binations o f ideas and feelings must come from the insight and u n d erstan d in g p ro v id ed by av ailab le evidence. W e have tried to provide insights through o u r interpre­ tations and we trust that the patterns described will em erge in clarity. It should also be noted here that both authors are of * T his line is taken from th e “ C anadian Boat Song,” som etim es know n as “ T he L one Sheiling,” published anonym ously in B la c k­ wood's Edinburgh M agazine, Septem ber 1829. See: C . F. Klinck, L ite r a r y H is to r y o f C anada (U n iv ersity o f T o ro n to P ress, 1970 ed.), 168.

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Highland C atholic descent, th a t b otl have experienced m uch of w hat is described herein, and that scientific docum entation for every idea put forth was not attemptejd. Som e o f the ideas are the direct result o f having been part o f tljis particular folk culture. In view o f this highland catholic origin it is quite possible th a t this w ork is not completely unbiased. No claim is m ade f o r definitiveness, as we fully realize that “ the past . . . is but the twilight o f the daw n.” In seeking to trace their story in the spheres o f politics, education, religion and culture, th e a uthors have naturally noted many similarities betw een the Scots and others in the province. Yet there are characteristics w hich, if not peculiar to the Scots, certainly stand out am ong them . Sir ce our concern is w ith the Scots, and not with N ova Scotia gene rally, we leave to others the task o f m aking com parisons o f th e v irious ethnic groups. In the pursuit o f o u r task we taped m ore t lan one hundred interviews with people o f Scottish descent whos first language was G aelic, If, in th e follow ing pages, w e seem t m ake u n w arran ted assertions, it may be that we have been ht avily influenced by o u r oral research. W hen w e speak of the coniept o f loyalty in politics o r o f the deep appreciation the people had for education, the views o f the overwhelming majority o f tl ose interviewed are being reflected. In som e areas the documen tary research does not suppo rt the beliefs o f these people and we have w ritten accordingly. This study covers a period o f ab o u t one hundred and fifty years; however, there are instances, su ch as in w riting on Scottish em igration, where it has been necessc ry to go beyond that limit. Q uite often, m ore stress is given to Dne period than to another because o f the evidence available, a s well as the view of the authors that certain years were m ore form ative than others. The w ork is concentrated geographically ori four counties, those which initially had the heaviest Scottish imm igration: A ntigonish, Inverness, Pictou and Victoria. It was in hose counties th at the folk culture retained its greatest vitality. Those in C ape Breton county came largely from the same background in Scotland and many, though it is impossible to determ ine the num ber, went to the m ining and steel districts from Inverr ess and Victoria counties.* T he sam e applies to the few w ho se tied in Richm ond C ounty, while those in the county o f G u ysbcro cam e from Scotland or spilled over from Antigonish and Pi :tou. F o r th at reason, the appellation “ eastern N ova Scotia” is used frequently throughout this w ork. However, while this wor is concentrated on four counties, it should be pointed out tha Scots had settled in other * See: A ppendix, “C ape Breton C ounty

IN TRO D U CTIO N

3

areas also, particularly C um berland and C olchester.1 In studying the Scots in this geographical setting we attem pt to show their general pattern o f developm ent in the following spheres: religion, education, politics, culture and the economy. T his process cannot be isolated from that o f N ova Scotia generally b u t since the Scots are o u r prim e concern we cannot, except in a broad fashion, take the tim e and space to describe provincial conditions in any detail. Yet we rem ind the reader th at these people, particularly in eco­ nom ics and politics, were being influenced by the sam e pressures as all others in the province. Som etim es their reactions are the sam e as those o f other ethnic groups; th ere is also much about them that is different. W e sincerely hope th at our observations will arouse interest and curiosity am ong the readers o f this w ork. T he Scottish fact was established in N ova Scotia between 1770 and 1830 when such num bers o f H ighlanders, and som e Lowlanders, settled the em pty lands of the present eastern coun­ ties. Inhabiting first the area know n as Pictou, they later flowed eastward tow ards Antigonish and C ape Breton. A lthough a few o f the early arrivals had som e m oney and skills, they were gener­ ally unprepared for the “ primeval forest.” Some had little to offer but their muscle, and a determ ination to develop a better way o f life than they had known. M any others were highly skilled stock­ m en and g raziers w hose m ig ratio n was caused by econom ic changes in Scotland, particularly in the 1760’s and 1770’s. R ather than seek industrial em ploym ent in places such as Glasgow , or turn to another occupation, fishing, they chose to m igrate. In addition to the stockmen and graziers, there were others who were skilled in milling or distilling, all agriculturally oriented. 1 See: Pierce H am ilton, H isto ry o f the C ounty o f Cum berland (unpublished m anuscript, 1880, p . a . n . s .) p. 10, p. 102, P art ll. T hom as M iller, H istorical and G enealogical R ecord o f the First S ettlers o f C olchester C o unty (M ik a Studio, Belleville, 1972). Esther C lark W right, “ C um berland Tow nship: A Focal Point of Early Settlem ent on the Bay o f F u n d y ,” Canadian H istorical Review, x x v n (1946), pp. 27-32. Israel Longsw orth, A H isto ry o f the C ounty o f Colchester, Nova S c o tia (U n p u b lish e d m a n u sc rip t, T ru ro , 1866, p . a . n . s .), pp.

135-221. Reverend A rth u r W entw orth H am ilton E aton, “ T he Settling o f Colchester C ounty, N ova Scotia, by New England Puritans and U lster Scotsm en,” Proceedings and Transactions o f The R oyal S o ciety o f Canada, T hird Series, Volum e vi, M ay, 1912, pp. 221-265. N ote the valid distinction that the au th o r m akes betw een the U lster Scots an d o th er Scots, (pp. 236-237). 2 D . C. H arvey, “ T he Intellectual A w akening o f N ova S cotia,” Dalhousie Review, xm (A pril 1933).

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BEY O N D T H E ATLA N TIC ROAR

Perhaps this is why they preferred to seek opportunities elsewhere. This attitude, reinforced by their distance from home, helped to m ake the Scots good pi jneers. By 1830 they were taking an active interest in every jhase o f provincial life: in e d u catio n , religion an d politics, Tlii s p a rtic ip a tio n , an d th eir grow ing num b ers, enabled them tc m ak e th e ir presen ce felt, Q uickly, they realized th a t freedom ind o p p o rtu n itie s existed in their new surroundings, and they sought to enjoy both. In responding to life in this area they b ej^ m e less Scottish and m ore N ova Scotian; in their stress on education and religion they helped to m ake these two elem ents the cem ent o f society” in N ova Scotia. Historically, many had not exper ienced any great opportunity to becom e fam iliar with agriculture a i it developed here, and this was to becom e quite visible in their new surroundings. T he late D r. M . M . C oady would rem ind tl em o f this fact in his own colorful style: You fellows on ten acres o f hilly land with two little mooley cows, a lame horse, ten hens, a p g and a h alf and a pet Iamb ...m o w in g fields where the grass is so thin that you could follow a snake through for a mile and never lose sight o f him. . . . Y ou talk o f m arketing, but if you w oke up tom orrow m orning and found the M ontreai m arket a t your back door. you w ouldn’t have tw o bags o f carrots to sell it.3 Though unfair to those Scots w ho w :re successful in agriculture, D r. Coady was voicing a criticism th at others had also noted.4 A no ther observer is reputed to havle expressed the sam e idea earlier and m ore pointedly when he poke of “ small patch plots and small patch m entalities.” 5 T he s rhall farms served these peopie well during the pioneer years6 but as we m ove on through the m id-decades of the nineteenth cen tu r / other opportunities developed and the Scots took advantage o f them . Thus, in tim e, fishing, lum bering and mining served as alternatives or auxiliaries to the farm . T he alternative m ost util zed was out-m igration, one th at arose as early as the 1840’s and which has continued to the present. T he most dram atic exodus was th at o f the Reverend 3 A . F. Laidlaw, ed. The M an fr o m A 'argaree (Toronto: M cClelland an d Stew art, 1971), p. 133. 4 See C h a p te r 3. 5 R . L. G e n tilc o re , “ T h e A g ricu ltu ra B ack g ro u n d o f S ettlem en t in Eastern N ova Scotia,” A nnal o f the Association o j A m erican Geographers, x l v i , No. 4 (D ecem ber 1956) p p .401-402. 6 W ith the exception o f parts o f C ape Breton, this phase was generally ended by the late 1820’s.

INTRODUCTION

5

N orm an M acL eod7 and his “ N o rm an ite” followers, who left St. A n n ’s C ape Breton during the 1850’s, to settle finally in New Z ealand. As a result o f this out-m igration there developed a system which provided for those leaving and those rem aining at hom e, one which seem ed to satisfy both groups and which was generally a broadening experience. Those w ho left discovered new opportunities in other parts o f the continent; those w ho rem ained behind, for a variety o f reasons, found their interest in other regions kindled through correspondence and visits from their relatives. In the pattern of econom ic developm ent and subsequent m igration the N ova Scotia Scots were sharing in experiences com m on to all ethnic groups in nineteenth century N ova Scotia. T he Scottish-N ova Scotian society we attem pt to describe ended during the 1940’s. The explosive changes in com m unica­ tion and transportation during W orld W ar II brought an end to the solidity o f their folk culture. Factors internal to the culture, p articu larly e d u catio n , had been effecting a g rad u al tra n sfo rm a ­ tion, as had the “ diaspora.” 8 M em bers o f the “ diasp o ra” returned regularly from such places as the “ Boston States” with the latest styles and, having becom e accustom ed to indoor plum b­ ing, found the outhouse context intolerable. Such part-tim e resi­ dents, o r “ pariah” people, spent much energy in trying to drag their native cousins into the m ainstream o f contem porary life, at least as viewed from their em ployers’ kitchens and factories.9 A nd there were always a few in the com m unity willing to follow their lead. The awesome changes o f W orld W ar n escalated the shift from a local to a global village; they forced a m ore intensive aw are­ ness o f C anada, a country in which the N ova Scotian Scots had found a home. T he social system which evolved in eastern N ova Scotia was one in which non-econom ic factors d o m in ated .10

7 F o r a b io g rap h y o f M a c L e o d , see: F . M a c P h e rso n , W atchm an A ga in st the W orld (L ondon: H ale, 1962). 8 T hose who had m igrated, an d their descendants, who paid regular visits to the old hom e from all parts o f the continent. 9 See: M . M acP hail, Loch B ras d 'O r (W indsor: Lancelot Press, 1970). 10 S D . C lark, Church a n d S e c t in Canada (U niversity o f T oro nto Press, 1948), pp. 41-44, 160, 330, 390.

Emigration: Immigration “ Broadly speaking, in the eighteenth century people go from the H ighlands, in the nineteenth they are sent.” 1 A m ong the several reasons th at may be adduced to explain Highland em igration there are n o t any to contradict the general them e o f the above. T he m ain argum ents have centred on the causes but not on the different nature of em igration betw een the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. T here is, however, one basic fact upon which there is considerable agreem ent: the Highlands, during the entire period of em igration, were incapable o f su p p o rt­ ing their population. Regardless o f other causes, this fact underlay H ighland em igration to N ova Scotia. T here was neither enough w ork nor sufficient food. W ork that had existed earlier had disappeared; also, there was a loss o f arable land for food supplies to fodder crops, and a loss o f the control on grazing land. Briefly, the land use system was comm ercialized at the expense o f subsist­ ence economies. Em igration was surely preferable to sustained proverty, particularly during the late eighteenth century w hen the population was actually increasing in many parts o f the H igh­ lands.2 Unless changes were m ade to im prove conditions, em igra­ tion was inevitable, with o r w ithout the introduction o f sheep. O ut o f som e 1650 em igrants who left Sutherland and the neighbouring counties between 1773-1775 for N orth A m erica, not one m entioned eviction as even a m inor cause o f th e step. All m anner o f other reasons were given, both econom ic and personal, but not eviction and n o t sheep.3 T he cessation o f H ighland w arfare in 1746, medical advances in the 1770’s, the success o f the p otato staple by 1800, and the “ natural fecundity” o f the H ighlander were all factors in the population increase.4 Those who left during the eighteenth cen­ tury did so reluctantly; there was little truth in the old jib e that while a Scot m ight die for his country, he would not live for it. Having no alternative, hundreds o f highlanders left their native 1 W . C. A . Ross, “ H ighland E m igration," Sco ttish Geographical M agazine, (M ay 1934), pp . 155-166. 2 M . I. A d a m , “ H ig h lan d E m ig ratio n o f 1783-1803,” T he S c o ttish H istorical R eview, x v n , (1920), p. 86. 3 A . V. D icey and R. S. R ait, Thoughts on the Union between E ngland a n d S co tla n d (L o n d o n , 1920), p. 60. 4 A dam , op. cit.

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heath to become soldiers in the ne tvly established Highland regiments, as skilled and unskilled labo urers, and as individuals with a little money to invest in a new beginning in the N ew W orld. It is estim ated that in the twelve yeais between the T reaty o f Paris and the A m erican Revolution, no ifewer than 25,000 Highlanders em igrated to all British colonies A m erica.5 Some men in Highland regim ents received land grants in N ova Scotia at this tim e, and were m ost often found si pporting the monarchy during the Revolution. Later, others we e am ong the Loyalists who em igrated to C anada. The concept o f loyalty was a powerful factor w ith the H ighlanders, even t lough by 1776 they were only thirty years from Culloden; yet, in the A m erican colonies, they supported the British monarchy, raham attributes this support to the tenant relationship. “ The oyalty o f the H ighlander in A m erica to the C row n was a logicdl extension o f his unquestion­ ing obedience to his im m ediate lan dlord.” 6 The close association' between the tacksmen and those un der him led to an assum ption o f obedience which was, upon tl e disappearance o f the clan system, transferred to others in authority. D uring the 1770’s, therefore, here were several causes for em igration. T he unem ploym ent problem was not eased in any way by the peculiar pride o f man y H ighlanders tow ard certain types o f w ork, notably day-labourin§ Even though they would per5 I. C . C. G ra h a m , C o lo n ists fr o m S c o tla n d : E m ig ra tio n to N o rth A m erica, 1707-1783 (Ithaca: C o rn e l U niversity Press, 1956), p. 189. A n o th e r so u rce estim ates th a t 30, 000 e m ig ra te d betw een 1760 and 1783. J. K nox, View o f the Britisl Em pire, especially o f Scotland, 3rd ed. (1785), pp . 129-30. 6 Ibid., p. 150. A few Scots, includi ig Jo h n Paul Jones, fought with the A m ericans. T h ere is not, and hould n ot be, agreem ent on this assertion. Loyalties were n ot based on the relationship betw een the tacksm en and those under him; the\ were based upon clan ties, upon k in sh ip . H av in g o th e r m em b ers of o n e ’s clan in a B ritish reg im en t w ould be an attraction to that egim ent. I f a tacksm an was a m em ber o f o n e’s clan this reinfo ced the factor o f kinship. The tacksm en were phenom ena o f the seventeenth an d eighteenth centu7 M . I. A dam , “ T he H ighland E m igiation o f 1770,” Scottish H istori­ cal Review, x v i, p. 283. T here is di agreem ent with certain views put forw ard by the au th o r. See Ian G rim ble, “ E m igration in the Tim e o f R ob D o n n , 1714, 1788,” Sc ittish Studies, vu (1963), pp. 129-153. It is im possible to verify tl e num ber who were pressed into service in British regim ents, for it vas neither loyalty nor love that took m any Scots into the arm y. F or a description o f th e attitudes fo stered in th e clan system , see: M . O . M a cD o u g al (ed .) R o b e rt B ain’s The Clans a n d Tartans o f See tla n d (L ondon and Glasgow: Collins, 1960 ed.) pp. 11-25.

e m ig ra tio n : im m ig ra tio n

9

form such labour in a Lowland environm ent, they were m ost reluc­ tan t to d o so in their own parishes.8 This attitu d e was in large m ea­ sure determ ined by their folk-values, not by econom ic standards. They were dispossessed tenants w ho preferred land, n o t proletarians seeking work and wages. As a solution for unem ploym ent, em igra­ tion was usually a last resort and was undertaken when it became obvious that neither farm ing, kelp-m aking, m anufacturing nor canal b u ilding could ab so rb the n u m b ers o f w o rk ers a v a ila b le .9 Even those lan d lo rd s w ho refrain ed from in tro d u cin g sheep farm ing found that their tenants’ situation had not im proved.10 In 1775, fear­ ing the potential loss o f soldiers to the British arm y through em igra­ tion, the governm ent ordered the Scottish Board o f Custom s C om ­ missioners to deny clearance to any ships with m ore than the com ­ m on com plem ent of hands on b o a rd ." This order rem ained in force until the end o f the w ar in the A m erican colonies.12 A highland Society, formed in Edinburgh in 1787, also m ade efforts during the 1790’s and later to check the depopulation. A ttitu d e s on em igration w ere changing during th e last tw o decades o f the eighteenth century because o f channels o f com m u­ nication that had been opened by those already overseas; H igh­ land regiments, tenants who had followed their tacksmen in the seventies, the clannish instinct and the powerful propaganda of em igration agents. . . . every art is practised by their seducers to inveigle them thither. They represent th at country to be in the m ost flour­ ishing and prosperous situation, provisions plentiful and cheap and wages h ig h .. . . But were they to think for a m om ent upon these illusory ideas, they could not fail of discovering the fallacy of such representations and the deceit o f their seducers.13 T here still rem ained lingering doubts as to the value o f em igra­ tion: “ Taxes must be paid and the fewer that rem ain to pay the taxes, so much the m ore oppressive will they b e.” A no th er com ­ m entator, with misgivings on existing trends, prom ised em ploy­ m ent to Highland emigrants seeking to leave: I am confident that not a single person in Scotland, w ho is 8 A dam , “ T he H ighland E m igration o f 1770.” 9 M . I. A dam , “ T h e E ighteenth C entury L andlords and th e Poverty Problem ,” The S cottish H istorical Review. X IX (1922), pp. 2-3. 10 Ib id ., p .5. 11 S c o ts M a g a zin e, x x x v n , (1775), p. 523. 12 G rah am , op. cit., p . 99. 13 The Caledonian M ercury, O ctober 20, 1791.

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able and willing to w ork, ha: any occasion to leave their native country for w ant o f the i lean s o f a com fortable subsistence.14 D espite such dissenting views, ther e was little ebbing in the tide o f em igration; it actually increasec following years of fam ine in 1782-83. By this tim e an increase in sheep farming did displace population, although the displace: nent did not always lead to em igration and its effect at this period rem ains a subject of debate. In som e mainland areas ffected by sheep farm ing the population actually increased, w hereas the H ebrides, little disturbed by sheep, provided m any e m igrants.15 T here w ere simply too many people on marginal land with few available resources.16 But high rents and changes in the relationship between landlords and tenants w ere becoming increasingly evident in the final dec­ ades o f the eighteenth century ant only aggravated the existing p roblem .17 A s the problem increased in volum e and intensity, m ore consideration was given to the ideqi o f involving the governm ent in attem pts to find a solution: . . . grant certain im m unities t the villages o f th e British Society as a m eans to encoura ge the H ighlanders to collect themselves into towns in Britain, rath er than see them add strength to other nations by 1saving this K in g d o m .. . . The nation may not feel it, b u t the people themselves, they who em igrate, know not where they are going. Am erica is not now w hat it was when best known t o H ighlanders. I mean before the Civil W ar o f 1776- th e y fc und it then a Paradise where they had nought to do but pluck and eat; now they shall find it is the land o f Egypt in the days o f the plagues o f Phara o h .18 14 David D ale, G lasgow , to Colonel D alrym ple o f Fordell; carried in the Caledonian M ercu ry, O ctober 2, 1791. 15 M I. A dam , “ Highland E m igration s of 1783-1803,” p. 81. 16 T h e p attern established here was be repeated by the dcscendents o f the H ighlanders in eastern N ova Scotia a century later, 17 Edinburgh Evening C ourant, Sep em ber 25, 1773 (quoted in R. W alls, “ Som e A spects o f Scottish Influence in Nova S cotia,” m . a . thesis, A cadia U niversity, 1957). See D . M . Sinclair, “ H ighland Em igration to N ova Scotia,” Dali ousie Review, xxiu, (1943), pp. 207-219; D r. W . P orter, Lochbay, :o John M acK enzie, Esq., Secrctary, British Society, (Tem ple, Lon Jon), D ecem ber 27, 1802. G . D. 9, 166, 23, G en eral Register Office Edinburgh. 18 D r. W . P orter, Lochbay, to Sir W . Pulleny, lia r t., January 18, 1802, G . C . 9, 166, 223, G eneral Registe Office, E dinburgh.

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Thus, though som e feared a loss o f population and wealth, the natural increase was m ore than sufficient to com pensate. For m any, therefore, emigration provided the obvious hope for relief. T he half-century following C ulloden was a traum atic period for som e Flighland people, involving far-reaching social and polit­ ical changes. It should be pointed out here that, despite the im pact o f Culloden, that defeat did not destroy the social struc­ ture o f the Highlands. C ultural influences from the Lowlands and England, which had been at work before 1746, were far m ore responsible.19 Essentially, it was a transitional period during which there was a re-orientation o f values following the disinte­ gration o f the clan system and the destruction o f the clan c h iefs traditional role. This disintegration began after 1746 and ended in the early nineteenth century though it was not fully understood by th e com m on H ighlanders u ntil aro u n d 1800. It m ean t a re-orientation o f values for the chiefs and other leading men in the system. T he military powers o f the chiefs ceased following the incorporation of their form er role by the British Arm y. As for land ow nership, most clan chiefs were landed proprietors before 1700; som e did not acquire this status o f laird o r landlord. Those tacksm en w ho aspired to ow n land and d id n o t succeed often chose em igration. Clansm en who no longer owed military service or labour to a chief turned landlord, were rate-paying tenants, w orked for wages or m igrated. G enerally, loyalty and kinship factors gradually assumed a less im portant role in this period of transition; the comm ercial principle became the dom inant one. T he changes did not occur suddenly nor did they follow similar p a tte rn s th ro u g h o u t th e H ig h lan d s. Local co n d itio n s such as the labour supply and the traditional modes o f livelihood could and did have som e bearing on these changes. [F or changes in the character of the clans, in politics and in the economy see: M ajor-G eneral D avid Stewart, S ketc h es o f the Character, M an­ ners and Present S ta te o f Scotland-,. . . 3rd ed. (Edinburgh, 1825) Vol. i, pp. 125-247. It will be obvious to the reader th at the views of M ajor-G eneral Stewart and those o f E. R. Cregeen are not in harm ony. The two volume w ork by the D uke o f Argyll, Scotland A s It W as and A s It is (E dinburgh, 1887), supports the position 19 E. R. C regeen, “ T he C hanging R ole o f th e H ouse o f Argyll in the Scottish H ighlands,” H istory and Social A nthropology (London: T avistock Publications, 1968), p. 165. T his was not an abrupt change, for m ost H ighlanders were accustom ed to paying rent in cash by 1745 and had been selling cattle to the English m arket as early as 1600. T h e real ch an g e w as from a clannish c o n jo in t/c o m ­ m u n al system to single en te rp rise s w hich in tim e b ecam e m ore exclusively com m ercial

12

BEY O ND T H E ATLANTIC ROAR

of Cregeen.] T his signified a transit on from the patriarchal to the comm ercial system o f land holding. A s an increasing num ber o f cjhiefs and chieftains21 became absentee proprietors, and as it beca be m ore profitably used for purposes other than tenants’ holdings, the old social system changed. As rents increased and as the concentration o f land ownership narrow ed, m ore and m ore small land holders had to find alternatives.22 D uring the latter decades o f the eighteenth century this was possible for som e, and efforts were m ade by som e landlords to assist their tenants, but the com bination o f displacem ent, higl rents and lack o f domestic opportunities left m any with only the choice o f em igration. How­ ever, the m atter of eviction was not, at th at time, the problem that it becam e just prior to the turn o f the century, and generally, those who em igrated in the 1770’s and 1780’s did so for reasons already stated. The majority o f pro jbrietors opposed em igration in the eighteenth century but were i^nable to stop it. T o o many people pursuing too few opportunit es, exacerbated by changes in the social structure, was the main reason for the exodus. “ O f w hat they had before the late co lquest o f their country there rem ains only their language and the r poverty.23 The need o f meat for the British arm ies saw m uch o the land given over to cattle and in turn to “wool and mutton ” in the form o f the G reat C heviot sheep.24 The tragic tale ol the “ Clearances” was under way in an organized fashion by 17‘>2- “ Bliadhna nan Caorach, “ T he Y ear o f the Sheep.” 25 It is difficult to believe th at the changing econom ic conditions in the Highlands would not have occurred anyway and the misery that occurred before 1800 was largely due to an increasing p o p u la tio n , especially in the H ebrides. In Scotland, the w ithdrawal left a high prop o rtio n of 20 Sinclair, op. c il., p. 207-219 21 C h iefs w ere th e h ead s o f th e clahs an d e n title d to resp ect a s the senior m em bers o f the senior branch o f the clan. C hieftains were the heads o f septs, the clan branches, and also w orthy o f respect and affection. T h e M acdonalds reputecly had a hundred o r m ore septs. T he prim ary characteristic o f the Scottish clans was their adherence to the agnatic principle: affiliation by m ale descent. See: A lan G . M a c P h e rso n , “ A n O ld H ig h lan q P arish R e g is te r,” . . . S c o ttis h Stu d ies, Vol. n, (1967), p. 189. 22 F o r F u rth er descriptions o f the conom ic changes, see: D u k e of Argyll, op. cil. 23 S. Joh n so n , W orks (L ondon, 1787- *9), vii, p. 334. 24 F o r the areas affected by the intn duction o f sheep, see M . G ray, T he H ighland Econom y, 1750-1850 (E dinburgh, 1957), pp. 59-104. 25 J. Prebble, The H ighland Clearance. (L ondon, 1963), p. 18.

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p o o r and sub-tenants behind.26 A lthough som e areas were affected by “ clearances” before 180027 the oft-sad tale o f the dispossessed occurred largely in th e first decades o f the nineteenth century. Sutherland has usually been cited as an example o f the ruthlessness with which people w ere forced o u t to m ake room for sheep. A nd while the story o f the evictions has been exaggerated28 there is sufficient evidence to show th a t those evicted were exposed to unnecessary cruelty.29 F o r the average H ighlander the Clearances destroyed what lingering faith was still deposited with the form er chiefs; to be evicted from land which his family had occupied for m any generations in order to m ake room for sheep was foreign to his concept o f loyalty and trust. In future, such trust would be transferred to m ore perm anent institutions. T here were certain features of the clan system, particularly at the local level, which distinguished the H ighlanders from peasants elsewhere. Belonging to a clan was a m ethod o f identification which ran very deep in the H ighland character for it involved, not only the family structure, but the clan at the local and district level, the political arrangem ent o f the larger clan, along w ith the feudal system o f superiorities and alienations of land. In Scotland, feudalism provided a basis upon which the clan system was m ade a perm anent structure.30 The full enjoym ent o f the land is not found in viewing the land as o n e ’s means o f subsistence bu t as the ancestral hom e - the local area, “ the sacred hom e o f a tribe or branch.” 31 T he tribe and the soil, the sense of racial continuity involved therein,32 the kinship o f one generation to another, the affiliation by male descent, these are the essence o f the clan system. It was a practical, distinctive social system. O ther attrib ­ utes o f the clan (tartan) later developed around this clan-area

26 T. C. Smout, A. History o f the Scottish People, 1560-1830 (Lon­ don, 1969), p. 353. The entire subject of emigration and its causes remains a subject of debate amongst scholars of this period. We have listed those which appear obvious. 27 Gray, loc. cit. For varying views on this topic, see: P. Gaskell, Morvern Transformed (Cambridge, 1968); J. Prebble, op. cit.: I Grimble, The Trial o f Patrick Sellar (London, 1962). 28 For some of these exaggerations, see: W. MacKenzie, A. History o f the Highland Clearances (Inverness, 1883). 29 See Footnote #21. 30 Sir Thomas Innes of Learney, The Tartans o f the Clans and Fami­ lies o f Scotland (Edinburgh: W. & A. K. Johnston Limited, 1952), p. 4. 31 Ibid. 32 Ibid.

14

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concept and grew to include the septs o f larger clans.33 The retention of such attributes demc nstrated a desire to preserve identity. The sense o f kinship ena bled a very large prop o rtio n of the population to regard themselve; as m em bers o f an aristocracy, T he pedigree of the C hief was m ade know n by the clan Bards and was regarded with pride by all descendants o f the clan. It was a relationship in which neither sn obbishness nor servility had a role. Thus, there was very little in com m on between a clansman and a peasant. Efforts were m ade in a few a reas, including Sutherland, to m itigate the hardships34 but they were generally unsuccessful, Such efforts were the exception to the general pattern and as one m oved n o rth w ard th e degree o f te n a n t d islo catio n was increased.35 W ith the failure o f eff orts in textiles, severe fluctuations in the kelp and fishing indusjt ries, a decline in the price o f cattle, and the continued popula ion pressures, the northwest counties were bearing the bru n t ol basic econom ic changes, particularly in the rem ote com ers o f the Highlands. The total effect o f all these changes in the northw e ,t was generally negative36 and in the context o f econom ic changejs occurring in the early nineteenth century, this was practically ibevi table. As the process intensified, view s on em igration changed once again and for som e it appeared as a solution to the problem of increasing hardship and overpopulja tion. A greater concern was expressed for governm ent interve ntion, initially to check the m ovem ent and later, to prom ote it: I do not hesitate in thinking th at G overnm ent does not consider the subject o f that im portance, which you and I know it to m e r it. . . it is certa nly true th at proprietors who have no oth er object than an im m ediate augm entation of rent, find it most convenient to substitute sheep for men, 33 In some cases the tribal significar ce of a tartan was known in the early 1600’s. 34 J. Henderson, General View o f he Agriculture o f the County o f Sutherland (London, 1812), pp. 143-44; E. S. Richards, “ Structural Changes in a Regional Economy: S utherland and the Industrial Revolution, 1780-1830, “ The Economic History Review, 25 Series, xxvi, No. 1, Feb. 1973, pp. 63-76; and \ alcolm Gray, The Highland Economy, 1750-1850 (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1957). 35 Smout, op. cit., p. 356. 36 Gray, op. cit., pp. 242-45. See ailso M. Gray, “ Organization and Growth in the East Coast Herring Fishery, 1800-1855," in P. L. Payne (ed.), Studies in Scottish Business History (1967); and E. S. Richards, op. cit. (fn. #34).

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w ithout regard to the m oral o r political tendency o f the m easure.37 A rather extreme view on the changed attitudes on em igration was expressed by one correspondent: W e will o f course take care th at only the poorer class, the subtenants and cotters, are sent off and these are assuredly u n ab le to pay anything to w a rd s th e ir sa o rsh t [j / c]. . . . If the proprietors are not allowed to exercise very considerable influence in selecting the em igrants, assistance will be given w here it is not required, and the m ost wealthy and indus­ trious o f our population will em igrate, and we will be left with the slorps [j/'c].38 T hus, by the 1820’s, when em igrants were still moving into Cape Breton and when it appeared that the m ovem ent would continue, there were those who sought to m itigate the quality, if not the q u a n tity , o f th e people leaving. Even th e efforts o f the Highland Society were unavailing with regard to em igration. Beginning in the 1790’s the H ighland Society attem pted to check the exodus, and then to regulate conditions surrounding the em i­ grant ships.39 T hrough political contacts the Society was able to exert som e pressure on the British governm ent bu t the Highlands rem ained a fountain for overseas settlem ent and a nursery for soldiers. The most sordid aspect o f Scottish em igration to N ova Scotia was the treatm ent o f passengers on em igrant ships. Those exposed to both eviction and filthy shipboard conditions had reason to have bitter m em ories o f exile, b u t such treatm ent did not leave perm anent scars. Perhaps it was accepted as p art o f the price of survival, for while there is considerable evidence to show the loneliness and soul-disturbing elem ents o f exile40 the N ova Scotia Scots have not enshrined bitterness in their legacy. T he fine physical stature later referred to may have been one effect o f the 37 Dr. Porter, Lochbay, to John MacKenzie, Esq., see footnote #18. 38G.D. 201, 497 Concerning tenants on Clan Ranald estate at Benbecula, South Uist. Duncan Shaw to Alex Hunter, Esq., St. David’s Church, Edinburgh, February 27, 1827. General Register Office, Edinburgh. 39 H. I. Cowan, British Emigration to British North America, (Toronto, 1967), pp. 22-27. 40 As an example, see: “The Gloomy Forest,” an English translation of a Gaelic song by John MacLean (the Bard MacLean), 1787-1848), who emigrated in 1819 to Barney's River, Pictou County and then moved to Glenbard, Antigonish County, in 1830.

16

BEY O ND T H E ATLANTIC ROAR

em igrant’s passage.41 Those who U nded at Halifax or Q uebec in th e late 1820’s an d early 1830’s felt them selves fo rtu n a te to survive: “ . . . a m ortality in this town unknow n from its earliest settlem ent having swept off from a population o f eleven thousand upw ards of eight hundred persons.’ 42 erned there were several heavy So far as N ova Scotia was conc waves in the tides of Scottish im nigration, with the first large p erm an en t settlem en t arriv in g at ictou on th e H e c to r in 1773. Some causes o f p re-R ev o lu tio n a y em igration43 can also be applied to the period 1783-1803. " h e latter year is chosen for it m arks the first serious governm ent effort to regulate the em igrant trade to A m erica.44 G enerally, those w ho left during this period were not “the wretched, helpless ecodus th at was to com e in the next century.” They were o f vary irg trades and occupations, they went largely on a voluntary basis, a nd they travelled unassisted, A s the clearances increased in ntensity during the early years o f the nineteenth century, and as no solution was found to the problem of too many people on too little land, there was a change in the nature and extent o f em igration. D uring the period 1803-1815, there were m ore who left Scotland through lack of alternatives than in the preceding iecades o f the eighteenth century. A nd as their num bers increas ed the conditions under which they travelled worsened: . . . the com m ittee was inform* d th at only tw o years before 700 highlanders had emigratec on tw o vessels which would have been forbidden by statute to carry even 500 slaves and that fifty-three persons (one-se\ enth o f the total complem ent) had perished on one o f these v elssels.45 T he Highland Society had som e influence in the passage o f the Passenger Vessel A ct o f 180346 but], unfortunately, the provisions o f the A ct were never enforced and the trade in em igrants retained its nauseating features. N c r could prospective passengers always rely on new spaper advertisem ents, for the inform ation provided was so general as to be useless: 41 A. L. Spedon, Rambles Among the Bluenoses (Montreal, 1863), p. 197. 42 Journal, House of Assembly, N >va Scotia, February 22', 1828. Quoted in B. A. Murdock, A / istory o f Nova Scotia (Halifax, 1867), in, p. 585. 43 See footnote f t . 44 Cowan, op. cit., p. 24. 45 O. MacDonagh, A Pattern o f Go eminent Growth. 1800-1860: the Passenger acts and their enforcement (London, 1961), pp. 56-57. 46 Cowan, op. cit.

EM IGRATION: IM MIGRATION

17

F o r Halifax, and Pictou N ova Scotia The brig Elize, Alex Stew art, M aster, will be ready to receive goods at G reenock by the 1st and clear to sail by the 28th February. The Elize is a staunch vessel, well found, sails fast, and has good accom m odation for passengers.47 W ith so many being dispossessed there was a higher proportion o f crofters and small tenants and laborers.48 D uring the earlier decades the tacksmen and w ealthier tenants com prised a signifi­ cant num ber o f those leaving. U nfortunately, som e individuals were forced to m ortgage at least a portion o f their future in order to pay the cost o f the voyage.49 O ne Scottish paper carried the following: Em igrations to A m erica T he following advertisem ent appeared in one o f the New Y ork papers o f the 15th January: “ A W ench. Eight and a half years of the tim e of a healthy wench for sale; she is honest and sober, and understands th e w ork o f a family generally. Enquire, etc.” O ur correspondent observes, that on enquiry he found, th a t the being whose servitude was thus offered for sale, was a young Scots w om an, who sailed with many others from the Clyde to im prove her fortune, and w ho, as is most com m on, had lost her liberty to defray the expenses o f her passage.50 It is estim ated that 19,000 passengers left Scotland for British N o rth A m erica between 1815 and 1821.51 It was the im migration o f this period that determ ined th e character o f Cape Breton and also reflected a new policy o f the British governm ent which hoped that the em igrants would assist in the defence o f the colonies as well as provide m arkets for m anufactured goods. Such pragm a­ tism, in the absence o f any assistance for the people involved, was not uncharacteristic of British colonial policy. The great influx o f Scottish im m igrants (said by som e au tho r­ ities to have exceeded 25,000 souls), gave quite a new com ­ plexion to the population o f Cape B re to n .. . . T he Island is 47 Greenock Advertiser, February 26, 1805. 48 Sinclair, op. cit., pp. 207-219. See also: M.G. 24 1 10, a list of settlers compiled by Mrs. W. Brebant, Charlottetown, p .a .c . 49 It is impossible to give an accurate figure, for the evidence does not indicate the number affected in this manner. 50 Caledonian Mercury. April 26, 1802. 51 Cowan, op. cit., p. 52. Some of these passengers were Irish.

18

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now decidedly “ Scotch,” w ith e very probability o f its continuing so to the end o f tim e.52 T he final phase o f the large-scale im m igration to N ova Scotia lasted from the late 1830’s to the e arly 1850’s and it is estim ated th at 14,000 cam e from B ritain.53 M any were Gaelic-speaking H ighlanders com ing to join their countrym en in the eastern region o f the province and thus to strengthen the “ Scotch” im pact there. T he continued wave o f em igra ion attracted attention to the conditions of em igrant ships, many of which carried larger numbers in m ore crow ded conditions than they were perm itted to under legislation regulating the slav e trad e.54 T he com bination o f tw o powerful pressure groups, the lapacious shipping interests in British ports and irresponsible High and landlords, were successful in thw arting m ost efforts to im p ove the em igrants’ passage. Im provem ents cost money and to )k time; neither expenditure found favor w ith shipping co m p aiies and landlords. Shippers were reluctant to pay for im provem ents to ships involved in the tim ber and em igrant trade, for it was largely the rough and odorous hulks o f tim ber ships th at 'vere used to carry the hum an cargoes.55 A nd until forced to imj rove the filthy and crowded conditions, som e ship owners paid is much concern to one cargo as another. The hum anitarian influence o f individuals and societies in the 1830’s and 1840’s and the grow ing com petition of steam ships which w ere transform ing passage conditions, were the most influential reasons behind the acceptance o f regulations in the em igrant tra d e .56 By this tim e Scottish em igration to Nova Scotia had fallen off sharply, but many w ho survived had vivid m em ories of the filth and diseas s to which they had been exposed. T here are a num ber o f g enen 1 observations applicable to Scottish em igration to eastern N o a Scotia. They concern the 52 This, it could be argued, is a mixed blessing. For the quotation, see Brown, op. cit., p. 425. 53 Mrs. R. G. Flewwelling, “ Immig ation to and Emigration from Nova Scotia, 1839-1851,” Collections o f the Nova Scotia Historical Society (Halifax. 1949), pp. 75-105. 54 See: K. A. Walpole, “The Humai itarian Movement of the Early Nineteenth Century to Remedy / buses on Emigrant Vessels to America,” Royal Historical Society, Transactions. Series 4, xtv, (1931), "Early Passenger Acts, 18(3-1842,” Institute of Historical Research. Bulletin, vn (1929-30). 55 D. G. Creighton, The Commercial Empire o f the St. Lawrence (Toronto, 1937), p. 187.

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population, em igrant ships, disease, and land grants. T hroughout the entire period o f em igration th e total population o f Scotland actually increased although certain areas did show a loss. The Scottish H ighlands comprise alm ost one-half the total area o f all Scotland; the region is equated w ith “ the whole o r greater part o f the shires o f Perth, Argyll, Inverness, Ross and Sutherland, including the W estern Isles from Islay up to Lewis.” 57 The largest portion o f this land had been used for grazing and it contained alm ost a quarter of the total p opulation.58 D uring the years o f em igration, notably between 1815 and 1846, the activities that had sustained many tenants failed them . D espite this, the fecund­ ity o f the H ighlanders showed no signs o f abatem ent, nor was em igration proving to be a solution. A glance at the following population figures gives support to this view.59

Argyll Inverness Perth Ross (with Chrom arty) Sutherland

1755

1801

1841

66,286 59,563 120,116 48,084 20,774

81,277 72,672 125,583 56,318 23,117

93,371 97,799 137,457 78,685 24,782

It has been estim ated that betw een 1783 and 1803 at least twelve thousand em igrants left the H ighlands60 while another source states that thirty thousand crossed the A tlantic between 1773 and 1775.61 Though it is impossible to obtain accurate statistics as to the num ber who settled in N ova Scotia between 1750 and 1800, it is known that at least ten vessels bearing Scottish em igrants landed in N ova Scotia ports between 1773 and 1803.62 In addition, some. Scots o f disbanded British regim ents settled in the A ntigonish and Pictou districts and, by 1801, in C ape Breton, a total of one hundred and forty-one heads of families w ith one hundred and 56 Cowan, op. cit., vu. 57 G . S. Pryde, Scotland: from 1603 to the present day (Edinburgh, 1962), pp. 150-51. 58 Ibid. 59Ibid., p. 160. See also: M. I. Adam, “ Highland Emigrations of 1783-1803,” pp. 73-89. 60 Adams, supra. 61 Sinclair, op. cit., p. 214. 62 C. S. MacDonald, “ Early Highland Emigration to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island from 1770-1853,” Collections o f the Nova Scotia Historical Society, xxm, pp. 43, 44.

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thirty-six dependents were of Scojttish origin.63 A t th at tim e thq. total population o f the island w as believed to have been about 2,513, including those Scots who had arrived at Pictou in 1791 and later m oved eastward to A nt gonish and C ape B reton. Also, there were a num ber of Scots • had left Prince Edward Island because of dissatisfaction w ith the landlord system.64 In A ugust of 1802 the first grou p o f immigrant; to sail directly to C ape Breton landed in Sydney. In im m ediate need o f assistance, they sought and received som e help from the Council to be repaid “ either by work on the projected public ro ads or in cash when they could obtain it.” 65 A n estim ate o f the num ber o Scots in N ova Scotia by 1803 would approxim ate 8-10,000, incl uding C ape Breton. U nlike the m ajority who arrived after that d a le, m any were skilled tradesm en and included blacksmiths, maso , joiners and wheel-wrights in their ranks.66 O thers were farm srs, form er soldiers, and farm laborers; it is not known how ny tacksm en and their tenants, who left Scotland in large number s between 1763 and 1775, cam e to N ova Scotia. A significant n ijimber went to N orth Carolina and perhaps som e m ade their y north following the Revolution. They left because they “ co uld not earn bread sufficient to support him [y/'c] and his family,’ o r “ to get better b read .” 67 The fam ine of 1782-83 in the Highlan IIs lent immediacy to the idea of em igration, for “ the poor highlanjd ers, and indeed the lowlanders o f this country, were never in sue l distress since the tim e o f King W illiam, as they are, and like to be m ore so, this year by fam ine.” 68 Econom ic distress was intensi fied by the large-scale evictions which occurred on the Sutherlanc estate during 1812-13.69 Thus, though settlem ent in N ova Scot a decreased during this period (1803-1815), it did not stop co i|npletely. C ape Breton received only the overflow from Antigonisli and Pictou, which were receiv63 B. Kinkaid, “ Scottish Immigra ion to Cape Breton, 1758-1838,” (unpublished m.a. Thesis, Dalhc usie University, 1964), p. 69. The author emphasizes that the recoid s are incomplete and can be considered only as an indication of s :ttlement. 64 D. C. Harvey, “ Scottish Immig ation to Cape Breton,” Daihousie Review, xxi, p. 315. 65 Ibid. 66 Treasury 47, xil, 34, p .a .c . 67 Ibid. 58 Extract from a letter of_ MacPherson, Esq., of Badenoch, Inverness-shire, April 27, 1783 to Mr. Kenneth MacPherson of Lambeth. Doc. 9, p. 8, Docume|rts Relative to Distress and Famine in Scotland in the year 1783, A. F. 51/150, General Register Office, Edinburgh. 69 Cowan, op. cit., p. 27.

EM IG RATION : IM MIGRATION

21

ing a fairly regular supply o f new settlers. M ost o f the em igrant ships landed their first passengers at Prince Edward Island during this tim e, but som e o f them m ade their way to N ova Scotia and set­ tled there.70 In C ape Breton, despite the absence o f direct im m igra­ tion between 1802 and 1817, the population had reached approxi­ mately 6,000 by 1815 and following 1802 there was a sharp increase in land grant applications and disputes over th em .71 T he heaviest period o f im m igration cam e after 1815 when conditions in most o f the British Isles turned the thoughts of m any to the British N orth A m erican colonies. O ne reliable source states that nine thousand people, including som e Irish passengers, sailed from C ustom s ports o f Scotland to British N o rth Am erica betw een 1815 and 1821. D uring this period people of all occupa­ tions w ere joining the large num bers of farm ers leaving annually for N ova Scotia or Q uebec.72 T he lack o f com plete im m igration lists is a fact th at bears repeating for while the m ajority fo r N ova Scotia entered through the ports of Halifax, Pictou and Sydney, no definite records were being kept in either Pictou o r Sydney. Custom s officers did not keep lists in Sydney p rior to 1821 but the population o f Cape Breton rose from 7-800 in 1817 to abo u t 38,000 in 1838: A rchibald M cN iven, the principal Em igrant A gent in the Highlands, declared in 1832 th a t in the past twelve years he had transported 12,000 H ighlanders to the Island o f Cape Breton and the peninsula o f N ova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and C anada, and th at o f these, 7,000 had gone to C ape Breton alone. If M r. M cNiven was not given to exag­ geration, it is evident that he did not direct all his ships to Sydney w here the Custom s officers counted only 6,513 im m i­ grants in all for the years 1821-1830, but, like other agents, allowed his charges to be left at the outports where there was no bother and no questions were asked .73 The Pictou population increased from 8,737 to 21,449 during the sam e period 74 while that o f Sydney County w ent from 7,090 to 16,359.75 As stated previously, this was the period o f heaviest im m igration to N ova Scotia and it caught the authorities quite 70 One source estimates that 10,000 Scots came to the Maritimes between 1800 and 1806. M. G. 24 1 10, p .a .c ., A List compiled by Mrs. W. M. Brebant.. . . 71 Council Books, Cape Breton, 1785-1820, Vols. 318-323, p .a.n .s ., 72 Cowan, op. cit., p. 52. 73 J. S. Martell, “ Immigration to and Emigration from Nova Scotia, 1815-1838,” (Publication No. 6), p .a .n .s ., (1942), p. 10. 74 Ibid., p. 9. 75 Ibid., p. 15.

22

BEY O ND T H E ATLANTIC ROAR

unprepared, particularly after 1827 when restrictions on the passenger trade were lifted and there was an increasing incidence of contagious diseases am ong the passengers. U nable to cope adequately w ith the steady flow, th N ova Scotia governm ent was m aking efforts by the late 1820’s i o discourage further immigration. T he situation was so desperai e th at som e im migrants, notably the Irish, moved on to the U r ited States, though few o f the Scots did so during the 1820’s, how ever, by the 1830’s, when land had to be purchased and therlee was little encouragem ent for squatters, som e N ova Scotia Scois also left. Several thousand, including native-born N ova Scotiaji s, left for other areas, mainly the New England states, in the fiis t large exodus of N ova Scotians.76 The lack o f economic opp jrtunity, the cost o f obtaining land, the attractions o f employmen on New England ships or in m anufacturing towns, plus the introjd uction o f A m erican manufactured goods free o f duty, were a factors in this em igration.77 Conceivably, it may have occurr id anyway, but the problems involved in coping with a sustained flow o f im m igrants gave an im m ediate im petus to this moveme At. O f the 39,243 im m igrants to IfJova Scotia during the period 1815-38, available evidence suggest that 21,833 were o f Scottish origin.78 A nd it is highly likely tha a m ajority o f these settled in' C ape Breton where, by the late 18.90’s, pioneering was still a fact o f life. W ith much o f the best land elsewhere taken up, the appeal o f “ squatting” in C ape Breton att rjacted the poverty-stricken and penniless im m igrants.79 H undreds were left in empty outports to shift for themselves, others arrived on ships with passengers suffering from sm allpox and were orced to rely on help from governm ent o r friends, or to beg fr om d o o r to d o o r.80 Each year the governm ent was asked for heljJ) in carrying im m igrants over the w inter, until they gained emplo m ent, o r until crops m atured, D isputes over land also characteri ed im m igration to C ape Breton and was a problem for the gov-ejrnment long after im m igration had ceased.81 lb Ibid., pp. 30-31. 11 Ibid., p. 32. 78 Ibid., Appendix I I , p. 95. 19 Ibid., pp. 13-14. 80 This is not surprising considering t ie attitudes on some of the estate owners in Scotland. “We will of co'irse take care that only the poorer class, the subtenants and cotters, ar sent off, and these are assuredly unable to pay anything towards their support.” See: Clan Ranald, letter from Duncan Shaw to Alex Huntei , Esq., St. David’s Church, Edinburgh, concerning application to the govemment for assistance in send­ ing the extra population of Benbecu a to America, February 27, 1827. G. D. 201 4 97, General Register Office, Edinburgh. 81 D. C. Harvey, op. cit., pp. 313, 324.

e m ig ra tio n : im m ig ra tio n

23

T he final phase lasted alm ost fifteen years and was a contin­ uation o f the exodus that had increased so drastically after W ater­ loo; 16,000 people moved into the province between 1839 and 1851, and 14,000 o f these were from B ritain.83 The fact that they could acquire settlem ent on land in som e fashion continued to be an attraction for em igrants to N ova Scotia. T he misery, contagion and dishonesty th a t had characterized much o f the em igrant trade in earlier periods continued, bu t notew orthy im provem ents were m ade during the 1840’s, and as the num ber of steam ships increased the necessary evils o f voyages in sailing vessels lessened. W ith few exceptions83 the passages were unpleasant and som e­ th in g to be en d u red ; sickness w as n o t u n co m m o n and th e p o rt officials in Halifax, Pictou and Sydney were periodically required to handle cases o f smallpox or typhus. A nd the N ova Scotia governm ent continued to be inundated with petitions for assist­ ance to carry late em ig ran ts o v e r th e w in ter m o n th s. T h e g o v ­ ernm ent’s problem received insufficient sym pathy or aid from co lo nial officials, a fact w hich helped to lead th e N o v a Scotia governm ent tow ards a change o f p o lic y -th e discouragem ent of im m igration. A fter 1843 the tide of heavy Scottish im m igration was over in C ape Breton and elsewhere; though others arrived later, especially in 1848, the num bers definitely waned during the 1840’s.84 And o f those w ho did arrive during this period, many were in “ extrem e poverty” o r described as “the very worst type” of im m igrant.85 By the late 1820’s th e character o f the eastern part of the province was definitely Scottish and N ova Scotian in flavor. Earlier arrivals were participating actively in every phase o f N ova Scotia society even while som e rural areas in Cape Breton were still in the pioneer phase and apparently learning to like it: A lthough m any o f th e first settlers cam e to C ap e B reton sorely against their will, none, I believe, have had reason to regret the change from th e w retched abodes they left to the com fortable homes they now occupy. Even the long hut, in the depths o f the forest, is a palace com pared with som e o f the tu rf cabins o f Sutherland o r the H ebrides.86 O ne who had settled in C ape Breton during the 1830’s later returned to Scotland where he becam e an Inspector o f Lighting 82 Flewwclling, op. cil., p. 76. 83 See: Acadian Recorder, May 28, 1842, for an example of a voyage during which the passengers were well cared for. 84 Flewwelling, op. cil., pp. 87, 94-97. 85 Ibid., pp. 86, 88. 86 R. Brown, op. cil., p. 425.

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26

B EYOND T H E ATLA N TIC ROAR

and Cleaning with the C orporation o f Edinburgh. M uch later in life he corresponded with Lord Lothian on the subject o f emigration to C ape Breton and informed him th at in Cape Breton the H ighlander would be with people of his own kind, G aelic was very com m on there, and he could ndulge in a variety o f activities, not just farming, as in M anitoba, for the H ighlanders were not good farmers. In C ape Breton they could farm , fish, w ork in the m ines or on the new railway being built in C ape B reton.87 T hose who had em igrated to N ova Scotia were progressing very favourably, if one contrasts their general situation with that o f som e who rem ained in Scotland C onditions in certain H igh­ land areas had shown little im provem ent over those existing in the first half o f the century.88 This ii borne ou t in evidence taken' before the Select C om m ittee on Em igration in 1851 when Charles Shaw, one o f the factors, gave a pessimistic view on the existing situation. Stating that destitution w is com m on in som e areas, it gave little hope for im provem ent il the inhabitants were left to care for themselves. Believing th t habits o f indolence were strongly ingrained, it was his view t lat stringent regulations were necessary if progress was to be m ad 5.89 In reply to a question on' the m oral integrity o f the people he stated th a t his opinion of them “ in general is not very high, Shaw m ade no statem ent on the effect of generations of poverty n the people concerned, Evidence from crofters was also taken by the C om m ittee and the general tone indicated a familiar th e m e - to o many people on too little land. “ Extrem e poverty” i s the most accurate portrayal one can gather from such evidence as the following, given by crofter H ector M acLellan o f Ballimc re; he stated th at he was one o f those appointed to search the houses and that the cotters subsisted on shellfish, dulce and o th er kinds of seaweed, with a little meal, obtained by begging fr >m the tenants; th at he had found no other food in the houses; that he had seen them going to the shore all w inter, even in the s now, and had found shellfish locked up in their chests lest their c hildren should consum e it in too great quantities. M oreover, their bedclothes were tattered and m iserable, and the w hole family, (pe haps seven), slept in one bed with not a gro at’s w orth o f covering. They were constantly beg37 Angus G illies to L ord L othian, ! ecretary o f S tate for Scotland, N ovem ber 2 4 , 1 8 8 8 , a f 5 1 1 0 7 , G eneral Register Office, Edinburgh.

88 Ibid. 89 StatemenLs by C harles Shaw , Fai or, before Sir John M cN eill, M inister o f Evidence, Select Com m ittee on E m igration, 1 8 5 1 , a f 5 1 1 5 0 , A ppendix A , pp. 1 1 9 - 1 2 3 , G eneral Register Office Annex, Edinburgh.

e m ig r a t io n

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ging from the tenants who could not let them die o f want and who therefore suffered a grievous burden. A nother crofter, A ndrew Ling o f Ballimore, stated th at he had a £ 4 . 4s. Od. lot and a small family; the croft raised food enough but he could not pay rent from the produce o f his stock at current prices.90 F o r people in such an environm ent, em igration to eastern N ova Scotia provided at least a m easure o f hope they could not expect to find in the Highlands. Truly, a log hut in C ape Breton offered m ore opportunity, regardless of conditions of poverty and social classification. A nd despite the rom antic mythology about the hom eland woven and perpetuated by som e N ova Scotia Scots, there is little evidence to suggest th at many ever returned there to live. Such myths can be rationalized, for while there is a m easure o f Celtic fantasy in them , they are not harm ful and have provided a healthy em otional outlet in song and story. A ttach­ m ent to Scotland rem ained strong for years, b oth for the em i­ grants and for their descendants. Lo! now on the boundless A tlantic I stray, T o a strange foreign realm I am wafted away. Before me as far as my vision can glance I see but the wave-rolling w at’ry expanse. 50 farewell, my country, and all that is dear. T he hour has arrived and th e bark is asteer. I go, and for ever, oh! Scotland, adieu! T he land o f my fathers no m ore shall I view.91 British colonial policy on em igration changed with the times; usually behind th e tim es. A nd while criticism m ay fairly be lev­ elled at policy', or the lack thereof, it must also be rem em bered that em igration was only one o f the problem s facing the govern­ m ent during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and that the bureaucratic apparatus was neither so efficient nor so stifling as the late tw entieth century models. Efforts were m ade to assist the em igrants, but too often they were either late, inconsistent, or both. F or the second half o f the eighteenth century, and indeed until 1815, the policy on em igration had been tied to British fo rtu n es in th e A m erican colo n ies and th e E u ro p ean co n tin en t. 90 Evidence o f crofters H ector M acLellan and A ndrew Ling o f Balli­ m ore before the Select C om m ittee on E m igration, April 7, 1851. a f 51 150, A ppendix A, pp. 122-123, G eneral Register Office A nnex, Edinburgh. 91 P. C rerar, “ T he Scottish E m igrant,” C eltic M agazine, 1876, I, p. 276.

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em ig r a t io n

:

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29

T he basic objectives were defence and trade; therefore, retired or disbanded m ilitary men were offered generous term s o f land ow nership. In N ova Scotia som e Loyalists with a military back­ ground, along w ith men o f the 82nd and 84th Regim ents, received grants o f land. Small num bers o f Scots had m oved in prior to the A m erican Revolution; this m ovem ent was slowed during the w ar years but accelerated following the Treaty o f Paris in 1783, a year coinciding with fam ine in Scotland. Yet, except in the context of defence, the general policy discouraged the depar­ ture o f people from the British Isles. But changes were taking place in both Britain and British N orth A m erica, developm ents which required a re-appraisal o f policies. Pressure was exerted by capitalist entrepreneurs in both C anada and N ova Scotia. Men who wished to develop profitable enterprises argued for British capital and population in order to do so and British naval needs for tim ber during the continental blockade enabled them to argue forcefully. By the end o f th e first decade o f the nineteenth century it was realized that Britain, along with the colonies, was economically self-sufficient.92 W hen it becam e evident th at pop u ­ lation could serve im perial interests in the colonies as well as at hom e, British policy began to change.93 A fter all, colonials were people and they too, at least occasionally, could buy British goods and fulfil an im perial purpose. T hus, even though Scottish em i­ gration had continued during this initial period, after the term ina­ tion o f the conflict in 1815 it received the official blessing o f W hitehall. C onsidering the problem s raised by the increasing num ber o f evictions and continued econom ic hardship, this was not a difficult decision, particularly when those leaving had been accustom ed to paying their own way. G overnm ent policy underw ent certain changes after 1815, som e o f those changes having been initiated as early as 1803 with the adoption o f the first Passenger Act. The Highland Society eventually accepted the view th a t som e em igration, aided by governm ent control, was potentially useful.94 Through pressure exerted on the governm ent certain legislation was passed in an effort to prom ote developm ent in the H ighlands.95 and to lessen the evils o f the em igrant trade.96 But with the exception o f assist­ ance rendered to m ilitary veterans the British governm ent gener­ ally refrained from any massive aid to em igrants and a colonizer 92 C ow an, op. cit., pp . 12, 16. 93 Ibid., pp. 46-47 94 H ighland Society o f Scotland, Transactions, Series 1, i (1799), also V III.

95 C aledonian M ercury, A ugust 3, 1789. 96 T he Passenger Act o f 1803, 43, G eo . ill, C. 56.

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B E Y O N D T H E A T L A N T I C R O AR

such as Lord Selkirk was left to h:s own resources. However, the W ar o f 1812 brought further im petus to the idea o f defence in the colonies and o f placing em igrants o as to gain a greater measure o f territorial security. Accordingly, a short-lived schem e o f assistance was initiated in 1815, but wa w ithdrawn soon after, having been considered too expensive.97 Few o f those going to Nova Scotia had been affected by this legislation. O ther legislation during this period was in the form of am endm ents to the strict provision o f the Passenger A ct o f 1803, provisions which had largely been ignored anyway. A m endm ents passed in 1817-1819 eased those c f 1803 bu t other legislation in 1823 re-imposed som e o f them , mainly because o f the sordid conditions o f the em igrant trade. n 1826, giving testimony to a Select C om m ittee on Em igration established by the British gov­ ernm ent, the A ttorney G eneral o N ova Scotia, Richard John U niacke, stated that the Emigratic n Acts had generally failed in their purpose.98 A lthough U niackc was stating the obvious, the' C om m ittee, partly from the pressi re o f shipowners, repealed all legislation affecting the em igrant t ade in 1827. And it was this legislation that obviated the require nent for surgeons on ships and which led to so much hardship, both for the em igrants and for the governm ent of N ova Scotia, Subsequent legislation was enacted in 1828 and thereafter; in 1832 an order-in-council reinstated the medical provisions of he 1803 A ct and soon after, governm ent em igration agents wert appointed at m ajor departure ports in the British Isles. They were able to am eliorate som e of the many abuses, but these were ne ver entirely elim inated. British governm ent assistance for emigrant:; to N ova Scotia was notew or­ thy by its absence. A nd with the exception o f interm ittent relief legislation99 this was the prevailing policy throughout the entire. period o f Scottish em igration to N ova Scotia. Im m igrants generally learned to look after themselvt ;s and that attitude, plus some aid from the provincial governm ent, enabled them to overcome the initial difficulties of settlemen in a new environm ent. The attitude o f the British governm ent tow ards Scottish em igrants to N orth A m erica, w ith the exception o f those assisted for purposes o f imperial policy, was aptly expres: ed in the following: In the first place, it seems des irable to define the nature of the assistance to be expected rom G overnm ent by Persons proceeding to the Colonies. N o pecuniary aid will be allowed by G overnm ent to Emigrants o the N o rth A m erican Colo97 C ow an, op. cit., p. 44. 98 Select C o m m itte e on E m ig ra tio n , p . a . n . s ., p. 38. 99 Flewwelling, op. cit., p. 78.

1826, M isc. E ., m icrofilm ,

EM IGRATION: IMMIGRATION

31

nies; nor after their arrival will they receive G rants o f Land, or gifts of Tools, or a supply o f provisions. H opes o f all these things have been som etim es held out to Em igrants by Specu­ lators in this country desirous o f m aking a profit by their conveyance to N orth A m erica, and willing for th at purpose to delude them with unfounded ex p ectatio n s. . . bu t the wish o f the G overnm ent is to furnish those who em igrate with a real knowledge o f the circumstances they will find in the countries to which they are going.100 T his stands out in rather sharp contrast to the existing Colonial Office policy of offering £ 1 2 to unm arried females emigrating to certain districts in A ustralia o r N ew Z ealan d .101 Obviously, im pe­ rial interests naturally dictated w here assistance should be ren­ dered. D espite its limited financial resources the N ova Scotia gov­ ernm ent m ade creditable efforts to assist the Scottish im m igrant upon his arrival. It is true that the large influx o f settlers brought about a change of attitude and som e changes in governm ent policy, but these did not preclude other avenues o f assistance.102 In a report on Em igration to N ova Scotia in 1831, conditions in the province were very frankly described; wage rates and prevail­ ing prices of food necessities w ere listed so th at prospective newcomers could obtain an honest assessment o f conditions.103 Local officials often ap p eared overly subm issive to those in th e Colonial Office, apologizing for even the most vital expenditures on the em igrants. One im pression gained is that governm ent subordinates and even the governor him self were extremely care­ ful about the am ount o f funds allotted to em igrant assistance. A second and stronger impression is that the Colonial Office had no definite policy established on this issue o f em igrant aid; perhaps this was, in effect, the policy.104 The provincial governm ent also published detailed inform ation on land settlem ent as late as 1841105 even though John M orris, the Com m issioner o f C row n. Lands, had tried in 1838 to discourage unlim ited em igration to 100 Inform ation published by His M ajesty’s C om m issioners for Em igra­ tio n resp ectin g th e B ritish C o lo n ies in N o rth A m erica, (C h arles K night, Pall M all East, 1832) G . D 9 166 23, C /O F ebruary 9, 1832. G eneral Register O ffice A nnex, E dinburgh. 101 G D 46 13 184, C / O J a n u a ry 10, 1833, G e n e ra l R egister O ffice A nnex, Edinburgh. lo:: M artell, op. cit.. pp. 15-29. 103 M aitland to G o d erich , N ovem ber 14, 1831, “ R eports on Em igration to N ova S cotia,’’ C /O 217, Vols. 151-152, p . a . n . s . 104 Ibid. 105 “ F o r the Inform ation o f Em igrants with C apital Intending to Settle on L an d .” 1841, Vol. 384, p . a . n . s .

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B EYOND T H E ATLA N TIC ROAR

the province.106 T he provincial go|/ernm ent therefore was consist­ ent, though not always successful, in its efforts to handle the problem . A s for the Scottish im m igran s, the m ajority had few problems o f adjustm ent beyond the nc rmal trials o f pioneer life. This new environm ent perm itted all tl e freedom necessary and gave opportunities denied them in th sir hom eland. Thus, w ithin a generation o f settlem ent, and whil 5 they still held to the attitudes th at shaped their character, they were changing from Scots to being N ova Scotians. The acquisit on o f land and the influence of forces in this new homeland were vital factors in this transform ation. By 1830 the Scots in Nov a Scotia composed the largest ethnic group in the province.107 Bj 1871 those o f Scottish descent still com prised one-third o f the population but by 1941 this num ber fell to twenty-seven per c(|nt, and those of English origin form ed the largest g ro u p .108 The difference is explained through em igration from N ova Scotia, for losses by the Scots, especially in the rural areas, were greater than for any other g ro u p .109 Economic conditions were largel responsible, but there were those w ho em igrated for reasons ot her than economic: The character of the Highlan|d ers is adventurous. They are men of noble spirit, quick dis em inent, and extensive views. T heir curiosity is insatiable, T heir intercourse with strangers makes them acquainted with foreign countries and lessens the terrors o f distance. They ha /e a surprising avidity to go abroad, and cut a figure in Ian ds where their-ancestory were formerly distinguished and wl ere they themselves expect to reap the sam e good fortu n e.110 This propensity for travel was but one o f several characteristics to be noted with Highlanders in bo h Scotland and N ova Scotia, T he concept of loyalty was anotlh er and there is evidence to indicate at least som e validity to th 2 a sse rtio n s."1 T h e B earer C ap tain B ett a n d L ieu te n a n t M acL ean are 106 Ibid. 107 It is interesting to note th e dram atic increase in Scottish nam es in b oth the press and the legislature. 108 A . H. C lark, “ Origins and Religioi s in N ova S cotia,” The Geographical Review, Vol. 50, N o. 3 (July, 19|50), p. 340. 109 Ibid., pp. 334-335. 110 A . Irvine, A n E nquiry into the auses and E ffects o f Emigration fr o m the H ighlands. (Edinburgh, 8 0 2 ) , 5, Pam phlet, p . a . c . 111 See the following pam phlets: ‘ T i.e S to r y o f the U nfortunate but H eroic Highlander, related by liimself, (W ellington: H ouston & S o n , 1809); A M a c D o n e ll, F igh ing M en o f a H ig h la n d J a c o b ite

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ordered to N ova Scotia and St. Jo h n ’s w here they are in hopes to have it in their pow er to raise a num ber o f men particularly H ylanders [j / c] lately settled in those G overn­ m ents.112 O thers m ade m ore than one offering o f loyalty to the Crow n less than half a century after Culloden: A t S h elb u rn e. . . 1 copied out a lengthy inscription on a gran­ ite stone to a Loyalist heroine: “ The wife o f John M acLean who died 18th M arch, 1791, aged 32 years. She left her native country, Scotland and num erous friends and com pan­ ions, to follow the fortunes o f her husband during the war with Am erica in 1780. A nd when N ew Y ork becam e no longer an asylum to loyalty, she joined him again on the rugged shore o f N ova Sco tia.113 A story illustrative of this trait concerned a tenant whom the pro p rietor of Balliadoch on the Spey had condem ned to death and put in the “ pit” while aw aiting the gallows. In som e fashion the condem ned m an procured a sword and declared th at he would kill the first man to touch him. But his wife spoke to him: “ C om e up quietly and be hanged and do not anger the laird.” T he m an apparently subm itted.114 A nother source stated th at ten vessels of Highlanders went to the A m erican colonies in 1773, “ and yet these persons, especially the Scotch [italics his] were in general, extremely averse to an entire and abrupt rejection of British authority.” " 5 Finally, the words o f the Earl o f C hatham : “ Those men in the last war were brought to com bat on your side; they served with fidelity, as they fought with valour, and con­ quered for you in every quarter o f the w orld.” 116 As an ethnic group the H ighlanders retained those characterC lan w ho fo u g h t in C a n a d a to gain it fo r an d p reserv e it to the C row n an d for th e H o n o u r o f th e N am e o f G len g arry , p . a . c . ; W . N otestein, T he S co t in H isto ry (N ew H aven, 1967); N . M acN eil, The H ighland H eart o f Nova S co tia (N ew Y ork, 1948); C. W . D unn, The H ig h la n d S e ttle r (T o ro n to , 1953); T . G . S m o u t, A H is to r y o f the S co ttish People (L ondon, 1969). 1.2 D artm outh Papers, June 7, 1775, M .F . 23, Vol. i, p. 22, p . a . c . 1.3 B. W ilson, Nova Scotia: The Province th a t has been passed by (L o n d o n , 1911), p. 23. 114 Related in N otestein, op. cit., p. 197. 115 R . C . M acD onald, S ketch es o f Highlanders. . . . (Saint John, 1843), p. 60. 116 R eputedly spoken in 1776; quoted in A. M acD onell, op. cit. For o th er docum entation o f Scottish characteristics, see C hapters vm and ix, N otestein, supra.

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BEY O ND T H E ATLANTIC ROAR

istics peculiar to them , and these em ained largely unchanged in their new settlem ents.117 In time they would be recognized on their own m erits and weaknesses, neither as Scots nor as Nova Scotians but as N ova Scotia Scc|ts In pride o f origin Nova possible, only by the NorseScotia Scots are equalled, if that em igrants had ended; the men overseas.” T heir journeys pioneer period in their transformatijo n was about to begin.

117 These are developed in subsequent chapters, especially in C hapter iv, on C ulture.

Settlement As if in anticipation o f who was to com e, N ova Scotia had received its nam e in the Royal C harter granted to Sir William A lexander, later the Earl o f Stirling, in 1621.' The province also owes its coat o f arm s and its flag to the sam e m an, who sent out expditions in 1622 and 1623;2 neither expedition survived, but the nam e lived on to designate the present provincial boundaries follow ing the sep aratio n s o f 1769 and 1784,3 and the re-annexation of Cape Breton in 1820. T he first Scottish settlem ents in N ova Scotia were established in 1629, one at Baleine Cove in C ape Breton, the other a! Port Royal on the m ainland. The Baleine Cove settlement lasted but a few weeks, while that at Port Royal survived until 1632,4 when the T reaty o f St. G erm ain-en-L aye restored A cadia to the French. Scots fought with Wolfe at the conquest o f Louisbourg, but it is not until the 1760’s th at we get any group Scottish settlem ent in N ova Scotia.5

Pictou T he area which eventually becam e designated as Pictou County was, from 1759 to 1835, a part o f Halifax C ounty. Derived from the M icmac expression “ P iktook,” meaning “ an explosion of gas,” the nam e eventually cam e to be spelled “ Pictou.” Separated by legislative enactm ent from Colchester C ounty in 1792, Pictou was designated as a county in its own right in 1835.6 Situated on the south side of N orthum berland Strait, Pictou County extends inwards for about twenty miles, and has a length o f ab o u t fifty; it 1 Colonel A . Fraser, "N o v a Scotia: The Royal C harter o f 1621 to Sir W illiam A lexander,” Transactions o f the R oyal Canadian Institute. x iv . Part I. R eprinted by the University o f T o ro n to Press, 1922, pp. 27-29. (Q uoted in C . B. Fergusson, The Boundaries o f Nova Scotia a n d its C ounties (H alifax, 1966), Bulletin N o. 22, p . a . n . s . : Fergusson, op. cit., pp. 1-6. 3 T he Island o f St. John (Prince Edward Island) was separated from N ova Scotia in 1769; New Brunswick and C ape Breton in 1784. 4 Fergusson, op. cit., p . 6. 5 Ibid., p. 47.

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is bounded on the east by Antigon ish, on the west by Colchester and on the south by G uysboro.7 Although the French made everal settlem ents in Pictou C ounty, none survived following their departure in the mideighteenth century and the first perm anent establishm ent was m ade by the Philadelphia C om p in y which, in 1767, sent six families aboard the H ope to Pictoi district in o rd er to settle and, eventually, to prom ote land sales, They were joined by others from Philadelphia and Colchester County, but the C om pany’s advertisem ents produced only a tri ckle until they started to advertise in Scotland. There, enticing w ords were placed in willing ears and John W itherspoon9 and John Pagan o f G reenock combined to prom ote em igration to N ova Sc otia. A fter sending a shipload to New England in 1770, on boarc the ship H ector, the prom oters turned their beady eyes tow arp N ova Scotia, and in 1773, having appointed one John Ross as an agent, succeeded in getting ab out 200 people from Scotland t their destination in the new w orld.10 Even at that tim e there were suspicions regarding the descriptions o f the prom ised land given so freely to prospective em igrants." Yet the agents were su xessful and som e were willing to believe. The passage of the ship H ector was but the beginning o f the heartbreak and misery to wh ch so many would be exposed on future voyages from Scotland to the new world. Concerning credibility, the H ei tor must surely rank with the M ayflower for prestige purposes in eastern N ova Scotia. If one is to believe all those who state that their ancestors came over on the H ector, he could only deduce that the decrepit hulk o f tim ber carried several thousand people. Ar d while many may believe, or may wish to believe, that their fam ilies did arrive in 1773, such was not the case.12 O f those who cam e on the H ector three I Ibid., pp. 47-49. R. R. M cL eod, VIa rk land on Nova S co tia (M arkland Publishing C om pany, 1903), . 350. 8 T he heads o f five o f those families were: D r. H arris, H enry Cum m inger, Jam es M acC abe, R obert Patterson and John Rogers. The latest w ork on the area, Jam es M . C am eron’s P ictou C ounty's H isto ry (K entville Publishing Co L td., 1972), p. 6, asserts that the H ope was really the vessel B etsey and provides evidence in support o f this assertion. 9 Richard Stockton o f the Philadelpli ia C om pany had contacted W itherspoon in an effort to get him to accept the Presidency o f the College o f N ew Jersey. G rah am , o, i. cit., pp. 86-88. 10 A . M ackenzie, “ First Highland Em igration to N ova Scotia: Arrival o f the ship 'H e c to r’ ” , C eltic M agu zine, viii, (1883), pp. 141-144. II “ A Bystander” , Caledonian M erc, ry, N ovem ber 12, 1772, N ational Library o f Scotland. F o r a list o f th e H ecto r Passenger , see G . Patterson, .A H istory o f the C ou n ty o f Pictou. Nova S co ti a (M ontreal. 1877), pp. 450-456.

SETTLEMENT

37

families and five single men boarded the ship at G reenock; th ir­ ty-three families and twenty-five single men jo in ed them a t Loch Broom in R oss-shire.13 A last-m inute passenger, the piper John M acK ay, was perm itted to sail when others prom ised to share their food with him . U nable to pay his fare, he was allowed to rem ain and pipe his passage tow ard the unknow n. D uring the long and dreary voyage of eleven weeks eighteen children died, food and w ater becam e extremely scarce, and a storm off N ew ­ foundland lengthened the trip by tw o weeks. The Scots dropped anchor in Pictou H arbour on Septem ber 15, 1773, and stared in w onderm ent and dismay at the trees that crow ded to the w ater’s edge. T here were only sixteen families in the district, largely those who had arrived with the Philadelphia C om pany in 1767, and their crude shelters did little to inspire confidence in the new com ­ ers. Such a scene was not unknow n to earlier settlers in the colonies and it was to be repeated on later occasions. F o r the H ighlanders at Pictou there was no alternative; they had to accept the challenge o f the environm ent o r go elsewhere. A nd since there was little food or money their choice was obvious. Food they must have, and since the season was too far advanced for planting they forced the agents. Squire Patterson and D r. H arris, to grant them supplies on credit. These were later paid for in full. Some left the area within days o r weeks, seeking em ploym ent o r subsistence in other places; those who rem ained erected crude shelters tw o and three miles inland, tracked through the forests to T ruro in search o f seed potatoes or flour, and managed to sur­ vive.14 F or the seventy-eight who rem ained in the settlem ent by T here is also a fram ed list in the first-floor show room o f the Public Archives o f N ova Scotia. Since we are tracing developm ent patterns and not writing a history o f the four counties involved, we have relied fairly heavily on secondary sources in this section. W ith regard to Pictou, we have m ade extensive use o f P atterson’s H isto ry . . . (cited above), and o f the sam e au th o r’s M em oirs o f R everend Ja m es M acG regor. D.D. (Philadelphia, 1859). 13 M acK enzie, op. c it., p. 141. C am eron, Pictou C o u n ty's H istory, p. 9, states th at the three fam ilies an d five single m en boarded the ship at Loch Broom ; th a t th e thirty-three fam ilies and twenty-five single m en , as w ell as th e p ip e r M a c K a y , b o a rd e d a t G lasgow . T h e re is disp u te as to the total num ber, w hich varies between 179 and 200. Jo h n M urray, The Scotsburn C ongregation (T ruro, 1925) states that there were 189 passengers on th e H ector, (p .l 1) 14 W hen the settlers arrived the C om pany already had the lots surveyed and “ all the shore o f their g rant was occupied.” T herefore they had to m ove inland. Patterson, Pictou C ounty, p. 84. Those w ho left the district w ent to T ru ro , L ondonderry, Halifax, W indsor and C o rn ­ wallis.

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1774 the challenge was constant and their acceptance o f it ensured the perm anency o f settlem ent. Trees were slowly cleared by those unaccustom ed to such lab our, crops were planted, wild anim als and fish gave a food si pply, tim ber was cut and a num ber o f dom estic anim als obtaii ed through trade or credit. In that year they produced 171 bushels o f w heat, 13 bushels o f rye. 56 bushels o f peas, 38 of barley, 00 o f oats, 340 pounds o f flax and 17,000 feet of board tim ber. 5 But a scarcity o f food also forced som e to abandon the settlem ent in 1774, though m any of them returned in 1775; they we-e joined in 1776 by fifteen families from Prince Edward Isla id, originally from D um fries­ shire, who had em igrated in 177)4 and whose destitution was g reater than their ow n.16 Seven of he fifteen families later moved to W est River near Pictou. A f :w other settlers straggled in during the next few years and by 1783 the population was estim ated at 200-300, a majority o f wh am were Highlanders. T h e second body o f settlers tc arriv e w ere m em bers o f the disbanded 82nd or H am ilton Regi ment, som e of who had been on garrison duty in Halifax while ( there had been fighting in the A m erican colonies. Those who o ctupied their land settled much of the area lying to the south side of the H arbour and tow ards the eastern extrem ity of the co u n t in 1783-84.17 A m ajority of them were Lowlanders but there were a num ber o f Catholic H ighlanders am ong them , many o ' whom later moved to Antigonish C ounty. The next group to arrive was the 84th o r Royal H ighland Regim ent which had b lien stationed at Q uebec and Halifax, and som e o f whom had se ved in the A m erican colonies. Som e m em bers of the second batt£ lion settled in Pictou County in 1784 along both sides o f the East River where they were joined later by im m igrants from Scotland.18 D uring the same period others, including som e dist;anded soldiers, were moving into other parts o f the county. W ith the population show ing a steady increase the inhabitants soug it and obtained the services of a cleric; following the receipt o f a petition the G eneral Associate Synod o f Scotland (the A ntiburgher Synod) appointed Reverend Jam es M acG regor to the Pictou cistrict. He arrived in July of 15 G M acLaren, The P ictou B ook New G lasgow , 1954), p. 39. The figures differ slightly from those given by M acK enzie in “ First H ighland Em igration . . . ” . H e al o states th at there w ere 13 oxen, 13 cows, 15 young cattle, 25 sheep and one pig in the settlem ent in 1774. T his would imply th at pasti rage an d w inter food stocks were available for at least a nu m ber o f t|i ese dom estic anim als. 16 Patterson, P ictou C ounty, p. 96. " I b i d ., pp. 114-115. " I b i d ., p. 123.

SETTLEMENT

39

1786 and com m enced his spiritual m inistrations im mediately. Lit­ tle impressed by his first sight o f P ictou19 M acG regor was also initially unim pressive to some he m et there; “ probably from being dow ncast at the dreary appearance o f the place and the prospects b efore him , he did not at first im press th em very fa v o rab ly .” 20 Before long both parties were to change their views, for M ac­ G regor laid the seedbed o f Presbyterian ism in the county and his charges were to grow in num bers and influence.21 M acG regor undoubtedly found the scene both a discourage­ m ent and a challenge. Earlier travellers had described parts of N ova Scotia in both attractive and disparaging phrases. Referring to Pictou, one wrote: T his settlem ent is about seven years old, and mostly doing well for the time; the land is pretty good; they have good crops o f w heat, rye, oats and barley, on the spots they have g ot clear’d; potatoes and o th er roots thrive very well here, and one man has a fine little plantation o f tobacco. T h ere are about thirty families settled here, most o f them from Scot­ land. They are very conveniently situated for the cod fishing in the G ulph o f St. Lawrence; but as most o f the settlers were very poor, they have only tw o sloops, and two or three shallops belonging to the h arb o u r.22 Halifax, according to another visitor, was developing, but in the wrong direction: F or the rural N ova Scotian, Halifax was not only the source o f political authority but, w ith its taverns, theatres, brothels, and hard-living military m en, it was Sodom and G o m o rra as w e ll. . . the business of one h alf of the town is to sell rum, and of the other half to drink it.23 T here was one fram e house, th at o f Squire Patterson, in Pictou when M acG regor arrived. T he ordinary dwellings were m ade of logs, reinforced in the crevices by moss, bark and clay. Furniture and dishes were largely hom em ade and rough in appearance; stone fireplaces served for both cooking and heating. T rad e was carried on by barter: “ Little schooners cam e round in the sum m er 19 G . Patterson, M em oirs . . . , p. 444. Ibid., p. 101. :i F o r a list o f som e o f M acG regor's noted descendants, see: Reverend F rank Baird, T he M acG regor Celebration A ddresses (T oronto, 1937), pp. 302-303. ” Patrick M cR o b ert, A Tour through p art o f the N orth Provinces o f A m erica (1776), p . 21, p . a . n . s . 2J J. M . B um stead, H enry A lline. 1748-1784 (T oronto, 1971), p. 23-24.

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with necessary articles, to which the people repaired in their canoes, and got a few things, for vhich they exchanged a little produce.” 24 So far as possible, trave ling was done by canoe o r on the ice, for there were no roads and very few horses in the district. The use o f canoes and sn OW;shoes was learned from the Indians, who also taught the first ettlers how to hu n t.25 There was no regular school although ne ighbours m ade efforts to hire teachers for a few m onths at a tim< ; nor were there many books in evidence, for few could read n either English or G aelic, Initially, M acG regor was greatly di scouraged with the ignorance and indifference he found amongsl the H ighlanders concerning education, but he later adm itted th t he was able to arouse their interest.25 He also supervised the construction o f the first two churches in Pictou, both o f which v :re built in 1787; M acG regor was giving both form and direction to this new society. He was very active in prom oting better agrk ultural techniques; he studied to im part this knowledge various books on agriculture and t to his people. M oreover, he was infl uential in having a num ber o f knowledgeable agricultural people s ettle in the county and encourage farmers to im prove their methoc s. C redit for the introduction o f the first double harrow and rolle in the East River district is also given to D r. M acG regor.27 Settlers cam e in small number; during the late 1780’s and occupied land in different parts o f the county; am ong them were som e who moved on to Sydney (An igonish) C ounty, as well as a num ber o f Lowlanders from D um f ries. T he Hext large body of settlers to arrive in Pictou were Rorn an C atholics from the Western Isles who arrived in Septem ber o f 1791, practically destitute. But the em igrants landed at Pi ctou in Septem ber practically penniless and though that small com m unity, itself containing only seven hundred individuals, nade an effort to support the newcomers, eventually it was i :cessary to appeal for aid to the colonial governm ent.28 They were treated as well as cond tions would w arrant by the people o f Pictou, few o f whom had any surplus food to dispense, M any o f these, however, upon the u rging o f Bishop M acE achem o f Prince Edward Island, m oved eas ward to Sydney (A ntigonish) C ounty and C ape Breton. D r. M acG regor, who had exhorted his 34 Patterson, P ictou C ou n ty, p. 138. 25 Ibid., p. 92. 26 Patterson, M em o irs, p. 107. See C ht pter iv on E ducation. 27 Reverend M . M acG regor G ran t, Nl. A ., “ D r. M acG regor,” The M acG regor Celebration A ddresses ( oronto, 1937), pp. 27-39. 28 C ow an, op. cit., p. 20-21.

SETTLEMENT

41

faithful to treat the newcomers with kindness, was disturbed by som e o f their views, and his com m ents illustrate certain differ­ ences in attitudes between the R om an Catholics and the Presby­ terians: M uch of their tim e was spent in naughty diversions, jestings which are not convenient n o r decent, in telling extravagent stories of miracles done by priests, and absurd tales about ghosts, witches, fairies, etc. T he m inds o f the Protestant H ighlanders, being partly tinctured w ith these superstitions before the arrival o f the R om an Catholics, were less prepared to resist their influence than the minds o f m ore reasoning and sceptical Christians. They had been pretty much weaned from the rem ains which the first settlers brought from Scotland, but we have not got wholly over these bad lessons.29 A p p aren tly , d en o m in atio n al d ifferences w ere n o t yet strong enough to erase the Highland predilection for ghost stories and o th er elem ents o f their folk culture. By 1795, when their second m inister, R everend D uncan Ross o f Ross-shire, arrived to assist Reverend M acG regor, the chal­ lenge o f pioneer life was being m astered and those in the Pictou district were developing a settled m ode o f existence. As in other counties, settlem ent followed the w ater and the settlers scattered along the shores o f the harbour and the river intervales. T heir gardens, though rough and little cultivated, enabled them to depend on a definite food supply, and both fish and gam e were abundant. Clothing was mainly hom espun, though a few articles were im ported; houses and furniture rem ained crude but a greater num ber were showing m ore attention to im provem ents. Religious m inistration was available and interm ittent periods o f classroom instruction were in evidence. Briefly, they were people who were able to acquire the necessities o f life and who were at the stage w here they could establish the directions in which they wanted to m ould their society. D r. M acG regor had already pointed one o f those directions; subsequent im m igration would determ ine the others. The East River at this tim e was certainly wild enough. The site o f New G lasgow with the exception o f a small log shantie at the bank o f the river, was then a perfect wilderness, inhabited by bears, foxes and rabits [s/c]. T here were no highways, no bridges, no com m unication between place and 29 P atterson, M em oirs, pp. 257-258. See also: Reverend A . A . Jo h n ­ sto n , A H istory o f the C atholic Church in Eastern Nova Scotia (L o n g m an 's, 1961).

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place, except by paths through the woods, m arked by blazes on the trees. TTie intercourse betw een the people was principally by canoes and boats ir sum m er, and by the ice in w inter.30 Separated from Colchester County in 1792, the district show ed an unm istakeable sign of civilization during the sam e year when a jail, with accom panying stocks, wa erected. As a separate district it was entitled to a C ourt o f G en sral Sessions o f the Peace and an Inferior C ourt o f C om m on Pita:s through which much o f the com m unity life was regulated:31 Ta nes, land titles, roads and other vital aspects of regular com m unity life were handled with considerable com petence and a small co ips o f public officials was gaining valuable experience in the bu iness o f local governm ent and adm inistration early in the nine eenth century. As m ight be expected, disputes involving land cownership were com m on in the Inferior C ourt and occasionally pi oduced a bitterness that lasted in som e families for years. T he im i portance attached to land by those who had never formerly ow ned any, and the retentive m em ory o f H ighlanders in regard to personal slights, kept such bitterness alive. Beginning in 1801 larger nu rjibers of H ighland immigrants m oved in to the district. Some mo /ed farther east, but the majority rem ained in Pictou County w here they received assistance from those already there. F o r v hile their pioneer days were difficult, they at least had the succ t^ssful example of earlier settlers before them ; many o f those arrivir ig at this tim e had been forced o ut by the “ clearances” and the prospect o f land ownership provided the necessary m otivation for effort. Even the terrors of the passage were soon pushed tc ward m em ory’s recess by the pressures of gaining food and s h e lt:r. A nother large num ber o f Higl land Catholics arrived in 1801 and 1802; like those who precedep them in 1791, many trekked or sailed eastward to settle with the iir religious brethren. Early in the last m onth three 1 undred and seventy emigrants, m en, women and children, ari ived in good health at Pictou, from the island o f Barra in 5 cotland. They are bred to the fisheries, and I have therefore located them , at their request, on Pictou Island and the shores opposite, for the convenience o f carrying on the Herring an d other shore fisheries, with 30 John MacKay, Reminiscences t / a Long Life, m 2-1884 (New Glasgow). Paper read to the Nov a Scotia Historical Society on May 2, 1913, by Reverend Allan Polio c, D.D. 31 Patterson. Memoirs, pp. 199-221.

SETTLEMENT

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which that coast a b o u n d s.. . . These people are all Rom an C atholics.32 Those w ho rem ained in the Pictou district spread in many direc­ tions and started or developed settlem ents a t Mill Brook, Middle River, M ount T hom , Eight M ile Brook, W est River, Barney’s River, M acL ennan’s M ountain, Tony River, East River and F raser’s M ountain. Those arriving were from the Highlands, especially Inverness-shire, Ross-shire and Sutherlandshire, and the W estern Isles. By 1805 the best lands in Pictou County were alm ost fully occupied and new arrivals either moved eastward to A ntigonish C ounty and C ape Breton, o r on to New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Pictou, however, rem ained a m ajor p oint o f entry throughout the entire period o f im m igration.33 Though the first settlers had few opportunities to buy liquor, excessive drinking became a serious social problem after 1794.34 A pparently, every “class o f society” habitually used rum , still the fav ourite d rin k in eastern N o v a Scotia, a n d any occasion was used as an excuse for consum ption. Barn raisings, house building, births, deaths and weddings all provided an opportunity for a dram o r m ore. Some o f the apparently excessive drinking may be explained as a relief from unending physical exertion, o r the loneliness and isolation to which many were exposed. W hatever the cause, it brought hardship and poverty to individual families, especially to the wives, w ho were already subject to m ore than their share o f privation and toil. Ultim ately it produced a reaction in the form ation o f Tem perance Societies, which established unrealistic objectives in efforts to curb or erase the habit. For som e H ighlanders, m oderation was a long tim e com ing and, when given, a choice, they preferred to be m oderately drunk rath er than m oderately sober.35 Though little m ore than an overgrown village around 1800, Pictou was developing as a com m ercial centre even at th at early date. The tim ber trade provided the largest source o f employm ent during the early years of the nineteenth century and it is esti­ m ated that annual exports between 1800 and 1820 am ounted to 12 W entw orth to H obart, S eptem ber 10, 1802, C ., 2 1 7/76, p . a . n . s . 33 Patterson, M em o irs, C h a p te r xn. See also: C . S. M acD onald, “ H g h la n d E m i g r a t i o n ...” . T he author lists the num ber o f ships an d em igrants from Scotland. 34 Patterson, M em o irs, pp. 372-375. 35 N o t all were agreed that the drinking was usually excessive: “ It was fashionable to have liquor in every house and to drink it at all times; but it was n o t fashionable to be drunk. T hat was deem ed disgraceful.” See: Jo h n N . M acK ay, op. cit.

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£ 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 . Those who engaged in the lum ber trade som etimes neglected their farms and acquirec habits of buying on credit which could lead to the loss o f the few possessions they had if the storekeeper was so inclined. The lum ber trade was brisk, how ­ ever, and Edward M ortim er, am ong others, established a thriving m ercantile business which attracted custom ers from all the coun­ try districts. T he tim ber trade with the W est Indies was very im portant and it was m ade possible through the beautiful stands o f white pine and oak in the county. T here was also a direct connection between rum and the tim ber trade: O ne m erchant at Pictou, I suppose it was M ortim er, in one season im ported from 300 to 400 puncheons o f rum , nearly all o f which was consum ed in the tim ber trade around Pictou H arbour and its outports. In fact the m erchants figured it out, and rather coldly, that it took a gallon o f rum at eight shillings to get out a ton o f tim ber which they bought at twenty-five shillings. T hat is, roughly one third of the cost o f the tim ber was the cost o f the rum consum ed on the way o f the tim ber to the ships.36 T he M ortim er referred to was Edward, the ablest businessm an in the early history o f Pictou. Involved in a variety o f comm ercial activities, M ortim er was also prom inent in politics and allied him self with the Reform ers. Eventually he controlled patronage in Pictou C ounty. He fought consistently for Pictou A cadem y and was responsible for som e o f the advancem ents it enjoyed in its form ative years.37 T he sam e source gives us a good description o f the “ Presby­ terian m an” in early Pictou County: Every week day, when he is n o t away, the form of a bewhiskered m an, now no longer young, may be seen going down the “ road from John P atterson’s hom e to his w h a rf’ and w ith slowing steps. His m ind is on pounds and shillings, on profit-and-loss and on pine, fish, ships, mortgages, rents, notes-of-hand and accounts. Figuratively, he has his ledger under his arm and his day-book in his hand. But on the Sundays after 1805, he always turns west on Church Street. T hen he has, in fact, his Bible under his arm and his Shorter C atechism in his hand and his m ind is on Pre-destination, Election, Salvation and Original Sin, on H eaven and Hell, for he is on his way to Prince Street C hurch. 36 F rank H. P atterson, John Patterson: The F ounder o f P ictou Town (T ru ro Printing and Publishing C o. L td., 1955), pp. 27-28. 37 Ibid, pp. 72-73.

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By 1805 population was approxim ately 1,300 and efforts were being m ade to im prove com m unications w ith T ruro and Halifax. John M acK ay, who died in 1884 at the age o f ninety-two, recorded his views on early Pictou in 1868. His family had left Scotland for Pictou in June 1805, abroad a brig called the S ir S id ney S m ith , sailing from Stornoway. U pon arrival they camped u n d er canvas in a field belonging to S quire P atterso n . M acK ay states: In 1805 there was nothing at Pictou th at could with any propriety be called a Tow n. There was one blacksmith shop, one tavern and tw o o r three small grocery shops. T here was no church, no court house, no jail, but a small dingy log house, which was known by the designation o f “ the p rison.” Edward M ortim er had his establishm ent at what was then known as “ M ortim er’s P oint,” and “ N orw ay H ouse.” 38 It is believed that the first carriage road to Halifax was opened around 1810; it went over M o u n t Thom and many other hills in the belief that the low-lying lands were inpracticable for many m onths of the year.39 G overnm ent assistance was obtained through the influence of M ortim er, a m em ber o f the legislature between 1799 and 1819. The town o f N ew Glasgow also received its first perm anent settlers during this first decade o f the nine­ teenth century. The most fam ous person in Pictou’s history, Rev­ erend Thom as M cCulloch, born in N eilston, Renfrewshire, arrived in N ovem ber o f 1803. En route to Prince Edward Island, bad w eather forced McCulloch into Pictou w here he decided to spend the w inter and where he accepted a “ call” in 1804. This m an m ade a powerful im pact, locally and provincially; he led in the establishm ent o f Pictou A cadem y, an in stitu tio n w hich becam e justly fam ous for the quality o f its graduates. Im m igration to N ova Scotia waned betw een 1810 and 1815 although it continued unabated in other directions.40 A pproxi­ mately 19,000 passengers, including som e Irish, sailed from C us­ tom s ports in Scotland to British N orth A m erica between 1815 and 1821. In 1816-17 som e Scots sailed from the Caithness and Sutherland port of Thurso to Pictou.41 T he great m ajority were 38 Jo h n M acK ay, op. cit. 39 Patterson. P ictou C ounty, p. 165. 40 T o Prince Edw ard Island: the Selkirk settlem ent at Red River. See footnote #33. M acD onald does n ot list any ship as arriving in Nova Scotia during th at period. H ow ever, a num ber o f Scots did arrive in Pictou in 1815 and were so d estitute that the legislature raised £ 500 to assist them . See: Cow an, op. cit., p. (58.) 41 Ibid., p. 52.

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poor but it has been estim ated th at as many as twenty-five per cent o f those who em igrated to British N orth Am erica at this tim e brought m oney or other resources with them .42 In M ay of 1816, a year o f famine, “ the m agistrates o f Pictou w rote that every family, if not in ‘absolute w ant’, was suffering from the ‘extraordinary scarcity of provision’.” 43 Between 1815 and 1820 approxim ately 1,450 Scots arrived at Pictou,44 “ o f whom a large proportion rem oved to other places, but a good num ber settled in various parts of the county.” 45 A m ong those who came in 1815-16 w ere L ow landers from D u m fries-sh ire w ho settled around D alhousie M ountain and on land lying between M iddle River and the W est Branch East River. “ They were distinguished by steady industry and rigid econom y, and they generally not only m ade a living but saved m oney.” 46 As in C ape Breton the Low­ landers settled in blocks o f their own and while it is not possible to docum ent their num bers, certain differences between them and the H ighlanders can be noted.47 Some Lowlanders also moved into the Barney’s River district in 1820; in the previous year, Big Island was settled by som e H ighlanders. Thus, between 1815 and 1821 much o f the rem aining good land was being occupied and places such as Blue M ountain, G arden o f Eden, G lenelg and Stillwater in the St. M ary’s district were receiving new arrivals. Blue M ountain was first settled in 1818 by people from G len U rquhart, Ross-shire and Inverness-shire, as well as a few Lowlanders. M any at this time were being assisted in em igrating by D onald Logan, an agent in Pic­ tou.48 A ltogether, 1,674 Scots arrived in Pictou betw een 1815 and 1822;49 A ltogether, im m igration to Pictou apparently ceased during the years 1823-27 but picked up in 1828 so th at from 1815 to 1838, 3,733 Scots had landed there.50 W ith the exception o f a plague of 42 Ibid., p. 53. 4? Sinclair, op. cit., p. 217. 44 M artell, op. cit., p. 91. 45 P atterson, P ictou C ounty, p. 275. 46 Ibid., p. 276. See also footnote #163. 47 In 1815 366 Scots arrived in Pictou; in 1816, 510. W e do n ot know how m any Low landers w ere in either o f these groups. T here are those who dispute the distinctions m ade between the H ighlanders and the L ow landers. T he reader can draw his own conclusions. See A. A . W . Ram say, Challenge to the H ighlander, (L ondon, 1933) See also: C harles A . H an n a, The S cotch-lrish, (B altim ore, 1968), II, pp. 57-58, 132. 48 M artell, op. cit., p. 9. 49 Ibid., p. 92. Land petitions were still very com m on betw een 1800 and 1820. See: L a n d Papers, Pictou C ounty, p . a . n . s . 50 Ibid., p. 95. P opulation increased from 8,737 in 1817 to 13,949 in 1827 and 21,449 in 1838. See also: Census 1817, Vol. 445, Docs. 9,

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mice in 1815 and an unusually cold sum m er in 1816, the people conprogress in their comm unities. I am told by the Sheriff, who pays frequent visits into the interior o f the district, th at the poor wretches who are shoved into the back woods are m aking the greatest efforts o f industry an d , n o tw ith stan d in g all th e ir p riv a tio n s an d sufferings, are w onderfully p a tie n t an d persevering. In d eed , my L o rd , the m ore 1 hear and see o f our countrym en here, the m ore I adm ire that C aledonian spirit which places them far above the peas­ antry of the sister K ingdom s.51 A financial crisis in England in 1825-26 had repercussions on the tim ber industry and “ for a tim e the trad e o f the p o rt was laid prostrate.” 52 By 1827 the tow n itself had a population o f 1,439. “ A lthough the tow n is not so well laid out as many others in N ova Scotia, the dwelling houses are in general much better, many being built o f stone.” 53 By the late 1820’s Pictou C ounty was well settled and the tow n, along with many o f the sm aller com m unities, had an atm osphere o f perm anency. Since 1815 the people had been accustom ed to regular com m unication by road with T ruro and Halifax and im provem ents in mail service and passenger coaches over the ensuing decades served them until the arrival o f the railway. In travelling eastward they usually followed the G u lf

T . C . H aliburton, A H istory o f Nova S co tia , (H alifax, 1829), ii, 82. Reverend T hom as M cCulloch strongly supported em i­ gratio n to N ova Scotia in correspondence with acquaintances in Scotland. E ncouraging o n e friend to send his son to N ova Scotia rather than to the U nited States, he wrote: “ A m ericans are a showy race and a teacher in o rder to succeed m ust advertise like a m ounte­ bank. . . . T h ere is no British colony im proving w ith such rapidity as this and learning bears a proportion to other th in g s .. . . W ith respect to family affairs I may add that I have now eight children and we have food and raim ent. I undergo considerable fatigue b ut upon the whole enjoy a degree o f w orldly com fort an d also o f respectability to which I could never have aspired in B ritain.” See: L etter o f Reverend T . M cC u llo ch to R ev eren d M c C u lb ertso n o f L eith , July 10, 1816. Vertical m s . File, “ T hom as M cC ulloch,” p . a . n . s . 51 Judge Stew art to the Earl o f D alhousie, Pictou. M ay 19, 1818. m . g . 14 A 12, Vol. u, pp . 208-210, p . a . c . 52 P atterson, Pictou C ounty, p. 312. T here is little evidence to suggest th at conditions in Scotland were im proving significantly; the reverse seem s to have been the case. See: M . G . I., N o. 313 C, Fisher F am ily Papers, p . a . n . s . 53 H aliburton, op. cit., p. 53. P .A .N .S .;

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Shore or went over Brown’s M ountain until 1851 when the road to A ntigonish through M arshy H ope was established. A m ong the very first efforts o f the settlers to open a road from Pictou was th e blazing o f a trail to T ru ro , a n d is credited to Thom as A rchibald, John O tterson and John Rog­ ers. This road, which was probably begun in the first sum m er o f their arrival, that is in 1773 o r 1774, left the shore at the head of Pictou H arbour and went over R oger’s Hill, follow­ ing nearly the course o f the present road, beyond Six and Eight Mile B ro o k s.. . . A bout 1810, the roads were improved from mere bridle p a th s ,. . . and though still rough and soft, carriages could pass over them . Liberal grants of m oney were obtained through the influence o f M r. M ortim er, a m em ber o f the Legislature, and by m eans o f these and sum s voted from the C ounty funds the roads were m aintained.54 A ccording to the sam e source, R obert G ra n t built the first bridge across the East River at N ew G lasgow in 1807. Connecting with A bercrom bie R oad, it crossed the river from the foot o f K em pt Street. A n outside trip to T ru ro or Halifax required a stage coach, or one’s private m eans o f conveyance. Any such trip occupied a great deal o f tim e b u t they often proved to be quite exciting. M any o f the second generation were now tilling the soil which, in intervale lande, was very fertile, and a contrast w ith the production o f 1774 easily dem onstrates th at they were taking advantage of their opportunities.55 The first agricultural society in rural N ova Scotia was formed at W est River in 181756 and its form ation was followed by others in the county during the next decade. These societies seem to have flourished between 1819 and 1825 and although general reports or financial statem ents were not published regularly until 1843 there is evidence o f com peti­ tions being held and o f prizes being aw arded.57 Serious efforts, som etim es successful, were m ade to im prove farming m ethods and livestock; seed grains, new agricultural im plem ents and pure­ b red A yrshire c attle w ere im p o rted . T h ro u g h th e societies m any petitioned for, and som e received, aid in the establishm ent of 54 See. MS. File, Pictou C ounty R oads, p . a . n . s . 55 See footnote #15. In 1827, w ith a population o f 13,949, agricultural production in the county was as follows: cultivated acres, 49,181; bushels o f w heat, 38,198; bushels o f grain, 98,562; bushels o f p o ta­ toes, 122,654; tons o f hay, 11,750. T here were also 1,609 horses. 11,701 cattle, 21,128 sheep an d 12,945 swine. 56 P atterson, P ictou C ounty, p. 294. 57 A griculture, Local Societies, Pictou, 1819-1825, Vols. 8 , 25, p . a . n . s .

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grist o r flax mills.58 W riting to John Y oung (Agricola) on M arch 14, 1820, Alex Forbes of French River sought a grant for the m aintenance o f a grist mill he had erected, the first in the province.59 A nd in 1825 one A nthony Smith received a prize for a flax mill which he had erected the previous year.60 T he general im pression received in the reports o f the agricultural societies is one of a small, dedicated group in each district working with very limited resources to prom ote agricultural im provem ents. A nd if one is to believe som e of the evidence there was certainly room for im provem ent: The Society was to m eet quarterly, and at each meeting a to p ic or to p ics . . . was to be d is c u s s e d ,. . . th e q u estio n selected for the first quarterly meeting in A pril being, “ W hat is the best m ethod o f preparing and increasing m anure.” It served to elicit differences o f opinion, for one m an rose and said that “ instead o f finding ways of m aking m ore, he wished they would find some way o f getting quit o ’ it, for it was just a bother about his b am .” 61 In their struggle against such ignorance the m em bers o f the agricultural societies did m ake som e progress. The tasks allotted to the w omen in p ioneer days were many and varied. N ot only were they to care for all o f the dom estic chores, they w ere also expected to assist in the fields during and after planting, and especially during haying and harvesting.62 Though the work o f the men was hard and m onotonous, they were som etim es able to take advantage o f seasonal lulls. But the work o f the w om an never ended; having borne the children, she cared for them ; when they were placed in the crude beds, she still had several tasks aw aiting her: the knitting, the spinning, the m aking o f candles, butter or cheese. T here were only a few who could qualify as follows: W om en lives a happy life here for they need not do any work w ithout doors. O nce they get m arried the husbands milks the cows and put on the fire - the wife will not go outdoors w ithout a shay to ride in. You will be astonished to hear that none o f the Lochbroom descent will go a mile from hom e w ithout a bonnet 58 By 1824 there w ere twenty-eight grist mills in the D istrict o f Pictou. See J. D aw son to John Y oung, M arch 5, 1824, m.g .2, Vol. 728, N o. 568, p . a . n .s . 59 A griculture, Local Societies, Pictou, 1819-1825, Vols. 8 , 25. p . a . n . s . 60 Patterson, P ictou C o u n ty, p. 298. 61 Ibid. 62 T his practice o f having the w om en work in the fields, along with caring for the household duties, lasted well into this century.

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and a silk bag for carrying the pocket hankerchief----- In fact, the w omen gets unuseful when they com e here.63 Fish rem ained plentiful throughout the initial years o f settle­ m ent;64 mackerel, herring, cod, gaspereaux and salm on com posed the m ajor catches at this tim e and much o f what was caught was salted and shipped to the W est Indies in exchange for rum , molasses and other products. A long with lum bering and the West Indies trade, fishing was one o f th e principal m eans o f livelihood and gave rise to a shipbuilding industry which had been developing fo r som e y e a r s .. . . Y esterd ay was launched here by Messrs. L ow den’s, the ship H arriet, burthen 600 Tons. She is pierced for 24 guns, and supposed to be the largest and finest ship ever built in this province. H er bottom is com posed o f oak and black birch tim ber, and her upper works, beam s, etc., totally o f pitch pine; on account o f which m ode of construction, she is said to be little inferior in quality to British built ships; and does peculiar credit n o t only to this grow ing set­ tlem ent, but to the Province at large.65 U n lik e m any H ighlanders w ho settled eastw ard , those in Pictou C ounty appeared to concentrate m ore on one occupation and did no t scatter their energies by trying to carry on both farm ing and fishing. This is partially explained through their origins, for in the m ore easterly districts there were com m unities of Highlanders w ho had a fishing background in Scotland and naturally wished to gain a living in that m anner. A nd since land was available and m oney scarce there was always the tem ptation to farm also. U nfortunately, it was often impossible to do both well, and in som e years even a successful com bination o f both brought m eagre results. T hose who engaged in both were forced to do so through econom ic necessity. D uring this period the A lbion M ines were opened and the extraction o f coal through the use of steam pow er was begun with capital raised in London. T he G eneral M ining Association was form ed in 1826 and, with m inor exceptions, managed to o btain a lease on the m ines and m inerals for a period o f sixty years.66 63 J . Maxwell to D uncan Maxwell, D rum cairn, L ithenet, N o rth Brit­ ain, N ovem ber 20, 1835. Vertical m s . File, M axwell Fam ily, Pictou C ounty, p . a . n . s . 64 P atterson, Pictou C ounty, p. 305. 65 Pictou, O ctober 25, 1798. C arried in R o ya l G azelle, N ovem ber 13,

1798, P.A.N.S. 66 J. M . M ’G regor, British A m erica, I I , pp. 134-135. A ccording to J. M . C am eron, Industrial H istory o j the N ew Glasgow D istrict (H ec­ to r Publishing C om pany L im ited, New G lasgow , 1960), C hapter ill,

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Eventually, m ining would become the m ajor industry o f the dis­ trict. Small trading and lum ber firms, along with general supply m erchants, provided em ploym ent in the town and several large outlying districts. The comm ercial patterns were definitely estab­ lished by the end o f the 1820’s and the H ighland Scot had either become, or was in the process o f becoming, a N ova Scotian, for his talents and energies were completely absorbed with the chal­ lenges and opportunities o f his new environm ent. As his political involvement deepened, the pace of transform ­ ation from Scot to N ova Scotian intensified, so that by the time of the fam ous Brandy Election in 1830,67 his interests were largely N ova Scotian. D uring the violent cam paigning connected with this election, the tw o m ajor divisions in Pictou arose from splits within the body o f Presbyterians, disruptions which really had their origins in Scotland. But the issues, those o f Pictou Academy and Assembly control of the purse, were N ova Scotian. Som e o f the K irk people were H ighlanders, the progenitors o f the later Tory Party, while som e o f the A ntiburghers were Lowlanders and forerunners of the Reform Party.68 A nd having had representa­ tion in the Assembly since 1799, the people o f Pictou w ere fully aw are of the provincial power structure.69 A ugm enting their social developm ent was the local legal system which gave them fam iliar­ ity with the laws o f their land. O f a total Nova Scotia population of 153,848 in 1827, m em ­ bers o f the Church o f Scotland com posed the largest single denom inational g roup.70 In the town of Pictou there were two Presbyterian Churches, an Episcopal church and a C atholic chapel. The religious divisions which had existed in Scotland p. 6, the G eneral M ining A ssociation was organized in 1825 and the first pit at A lbion M ines was sunk in 1827. 67 T his was a dispute between the Council and the elected Assembly over revenue. 68 J. M . C am eron, Political Piclonians (O ttaw a, 1967), pp. 3-4. 69 T h e appointed C ouncil, with an unw arranted representation from H alifax and th e Anglican C hurch, was often at odds with the elected Assem bly, especially on m atters o f revenue. G radually, betw een 1758 and 1848, the Assembly was able to “ whittle” dow n the executive and legislative powers o f the C ouncil; representatives of the Pictou district participated actively in this struggle. A s an illus­ tra tio n o f th e p o w er stru c tu re o f th e C o u n c il, see th e g enealogical chart in J. M . Beck, T he G overnm ent o f N ova S co tia (U niversity o f T o ro n to Press, 1957), p. 349. 70 H aliburton, op. cit., p. 278. C hurch o f Scotland here includes all P resbyterians, 37,225; o th er denom inations w ere listed as follows: R o m an C a th o lics, 20,401; A nglicans, 2 8 ,659; M e th o d ists, 9,408; Baptists, 19,790; L utherans, 2,968.

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between the established Church o f Scotland and the Secessionists were unfortunately transferred to N ova Scotia, w here they caused serious ill-feeling in the Presbyterian churches, in politics and in education. Since the first ministers in the Pictou district were of the Secession m em bership there was no rancor in evidence, for mem bers o f the Established C hurch o f Scotland attended their services.71 But when ministers o f the Church of Scotland becam e m ore num erous the divisions were revived through an unwilling­ ness on either side to yield on m atters o f church com m union and governm ent. As the divisions w ere not basically doctrinal, there was much intercourse and exchange between m em bers o f the different congregations, but the ministers, even though often per­ sonally friendly, rem ained ap a rt.72 . . . it is truly painful, if not disgusting, to discover soon after, that society had, for the last few years, been in a state of the most violent agitation, principally from the passion for reli­ gious ascendency [ m ] p ro b ab ly as m uch from fanciful in d i­ vidual v anity; w hen we also find th a t th e very p a rtie s who ren d er them selves so truly rid icu lo u s in th e cool ju d g m e n t o f reaso n ab le m inds, differ, n o t in d o ctrin es o f faith , but in som e u n im p o rta n t m a tte r or form o f church g o v e rn ­ m ent. . . . 73 Even a union o f th e T ru ro an d P ictou p resb y teries in 1817 did no t o b literate th e differnces b etw een K irk and S ecessio n ist.74 T heir keenness for m atters theological was also reflected in an increasing church m em bership and in the num bers o f clergy,75 as well as in the establishm ent o f such bodies as the Domestic M issionary Society, a Bible Society and a Sabbath School Society.76 T o deny the im portance o f religion in Pictou, even within the town itself, would be to fly away from the obvious, for by the late 1820’s, Presbyterianism was not only well entrenched but was intensified by the divisions within the two m ain bodies. Perhaps this friction fired them tow ard achievem ent, and may possibly explain the success later enjoyed by m any Pictou A cad­ emy graduates. It may have given an extra im petus to their preached and practised virtues o f sobriety, industry and frugality. 71 Patterson, P ictou C ounty, p. 314. 72 Ibid., p. 315. 73 M acG regor, op. cit., pp. 133-134. 74 See C h ap ter iv on E ducation, particularly the section dealing with Pictou A cadem y. Sec also the chart show ing the unions o f Presby­ terianism in C anada, p. 75 Patterson, M em oirs, p. 457. 76 Patterson, P ictou C ounty, pp. 311-312.

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From the writing o f Reverend Jam es M acG regor, it is easy to capture the im pression o f a stern-visaged G od, in constant watch over Pictou C ounty, carefully recording the debits and credits o f this society. Obviously, such celestial bookkeeping could create a constant state o f tension in which devout believers were quite willing to w ork hard for the K ingdom o f G o d in Pictou and elsewhere. The zeal o f Reverend M acG regor in religious m atters was equalled by that o f Reverend M cCulloch in his efforts to establish Pictou Academ y, for which an A ct o f Incorporation was passed in 1816. A gainst heavy odds, M cCulloch succeeded in establish­ ing regular classes in the fall o f 1817.77 Supplem ented by a G ram m ar School for younger students, the A cadem y itself offered in stru ctio n in th e higher b ra n ch es o f e d u catio n , o n e o f M cC ulloch’s objectives being to train young men for the m inis­ try .78 D espite financial problem s and strong religious opposition, M cC ulloch’s am bitions for the A cadem y were eventually fulfilled, and it became the most respected institution o f its kind in the province. By the late 1820’s progress was evident elsewhere in the C ounty’s school system, and in 1826 Reverend M acG regor was able to state that “ there are now sixty schools in Pictou dis­ trict.” 79 And in the town o f Pictou a subscription library had been form ed in 1822. By the late 1820’s the nature of this regional society in Pictou C ounty was largely shaped under the direction of three men: Reverend M acG regor, Reverend M cCulloch and Jotham Blan­ chard, the intelligent and independent editor o f their first new spa­ per, the Colonial Patriot, (1827-1834). Bom in N ew H am pshire in 1800, Blanchard moved w ith his parents to T ruro in 1801, later to W est River, and thence to Pictou where he was a m em ber of the first class registered at the A cadem y.80 A dm itted to the bar in 1821, he practised law in Pictou; in 1827 the first edition o f the Patriot came off the press. From the beginning Blanchard carried news of events throughout N ova Scotia and from Britain; he supported the political objectives of those seek­ ing to reform colonial adm inistration, and his favourite target was the governing council in Halifax, that facetious form ation which dom inated all aspects o f society in the little p o rt city. H is efforts were successful, for despite the hostility shown tow ards him , it is fair to assert that he hastened the winning o f responsible govern­ 77 Ib id ., pp. 328-329. 78 See C h apter iv for a fuller treatm ent o f this institution. 79 P atterson, M em oirs, p. 107. 80 Patterson, P ictou C ounty, p. 329

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m ent in N ova Scotia and also polarized the party system.81 As a m em ber of the Assembly between 1830 and 1836, Blanchard supported a num ber o f reform measures which passed, and unsuc­ cessfully tried to have others legislated.82 A lthough he died at th e age of thirty-nine83 his im pact on his colonial environm ent was substantive. In m atters relating to political responsibility and the freedom o f an independent press he acted the role o f forerunner and thus m ade it easier for his successors84 to carry the cudgels of battle in the m oulding o f a N ova Scotian society. Finally, there are obvious and understandable differences to be noted between the settled society of Pictou by the end o f the 1820’s and those being developed by Highlanders in Antigonish and C ape Breton. W hile A ntigonish C ounty at this date could also boast o f schools, churches, an Agricultural Society and a few small industries, Inverness and V ictoria C ounties were still largely in the pioneer phase. Pictou, in its regular com m unication with the larger English-speaking towns of T ruro and Halifax, was m ore directly in the vanguard o f political and social developm ent. Less isolated than those farther east and with a coterie o f profes­ sional clergy deeply interested in education, it appears th at a num ber o f people in Pictou were intellectually aware o f contem ­ porary ideas in much larger urban centres, including London, E dinburgh and Glasgow. N ot only were they in constant corre­ spondence with individuals a n d institutions in those areas but they were accustom ed to buying and reading the books from their publishers. T heir contem poraries were also to be found in A nti­ gonish: A t the hospitable board o f R. N . H enry, Esq., the then postm aster o f A ntigonish, I m et four m en, each differing in training, professional character, but each in his own time sufficiently rem arkable to m ake his society very attractive. These were D r. Fraser, w ho becam e C atholic Bishop o f the Diocese, D r. M acD onald, then in full enjoym ent o f a large 81 This is not to say that “ responsible government" showed the inevita­ bility of progress or the purity of the Reformers. In the context of the period it was the gaining of an objective and was, from that point of view, laudable. Joseph Howe, who was not the first to appreciate the real meaning of responsible government, credited the Patriot with converting him “from the error of my ways.” 82 Patterson, Pictou County, p. 383. 83 C. B. Fergusson, Nova Scotia m . l . a ’ s , 1758-1958, ( p . a . n . s . , 1958). Blanchard’s death is listed here as July 13, 1839; Patterson, in his History o f Pictou County, gives it as July 13, 1840. 84 Foremost of whom was Joseph Howe.

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county practice, the Rev. T hom as T rotter, Presbyterian pas­ to r o f the village congregation, and our old friend, Sandy M acD ougall. They were all Scotchm en o r o f Scotch descent, were fast friends and cronies. Each would stand up for his own C hurch or his own snuff box, but they would all stand up for old Scotland, and fight to prove a thistle m ore fragrant than a rose. I would have given a trifle to have seen and heard our four old friends once m ore chaffing each o th er in Latin, English, G reek and G aelic. W ith these four men I rem ained on term s o f intim acy and friendship while they lived. N othing impressed m e so much as to hear questions of philosophy, o f practical or abstract science, o r o f European politics, discussed in th e C o u n ty o f Sydney w ith th e k e e n ­ est o f logic and fullness o f inform ation scarcely m et within the capital.85 In C ape Breton the initial leadership in higher education was supplied by a C atholic clergy. In 1824 R everend W illiam B. M acLeod was instructing several young men in Latin and shortly thereafter established a school at East Bay which he placed under the direction o f M alcolm M acLellan, a Scot w ith a good back­ ground in the Classics.86 K now n locally as “ T he College” , this institution, under the direction o f M acLeod and M acLellan, inspired som e excellent students.87 Pictou, how ever, was m ore advanced in depth and in a vari­ ety o f directions than were the m ore easterly regions. It could also be argued, as som e evidence suggests, that the strength of Presbyterianism , especially am ong the Lowlanders, supplied considerable m otivation through the constant em phasis placed on industry and frugality. Thus, if the work ethic and progress are to be the historical standards, the C atholic H ighlanders may often be con­ sidered as failures. But if one is to judge by the fulfilment of aspirations and retention o f values, they were highly successful. In this connection it is interesting to note the difference (often 85 S ta te m e n l o f Jo sep h H ow e, q u o te d in Jo h n s to n , op. c it., pp. 4 6 5 -4 6 6 . S an d y M acD o u g all w as A le x a n d e r M a c D o u g a ll, a y o u n g b a rris te r w h o la te r b ecam e A tto rn e y -G e n e ra l o f N ova S co tia. D r. M acD onald was D r. A lexander M acD onald, a physician, w ho cam e to A ntigonish from Scotland betw een 1805 and 1810. R . N . H enry was the father o f W . A. H enry (1816-1888), one o f the Fathers o f C onfederation. F o r further confirm ation see: Dalhousie Review, Vol. xv , 1935-36, pp . 194-195. 86 Jo h n sto n , op. cit., p. 480. 87 Including C . F . M acK in n o n, founder o f St. Francis X avier U niver­ sity.

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BEYOND THE ATLANTIC ROAR

m entioned by contem poraries) betw een H ighlander and Lowlander: The H ighland Scotch, unless interm ixed with other settlers, are not only careless, in many particulars, of cleanliness within their houses, but are also regardless o f neatness and convenience in their agricultural im plem ents and arrange­ ments. All this arises from the force o f habit, and the long prevalence o f the m ake-shift system; for w henever a Scotch H ighlander is planted am ong a prom iscuous population, no one is m ore anxious than he to rival the m ore respectable establishm ent o f his neighbour. The Scotch settlers from th e Lowland countries, although they generally know much better, yet rem ain, from a determ i­ nation first to accum ulate property, for som e years regardless o f com fort or convenience in their dwellings; but they at last build respectable houses, and enjoy the fruits o f their indus­ try.88 A nd also: . . . the north presents an unbroken line of families earnestly desirous o f obtaining a m inister o f the C hurch o f Scotland. They are chiefly from the district o f G airloch in the H igh­ lands of Scotland, and alm ost all exhibit those features of sobriety and decorum , which peculiarly distinguish em igrants from that district.89 The general im pression gained from such evidence is th at not only were the Lowland settlers better farmers, but Presbyterians were also im bued with definite ideas concerning m an’s role in society; included in those ideas were their virtues o f sobriety, industry and progress. This may explain why so many Lowland Scots succeeded in both the professional and the comm ercial w orld later.90 The pattern w ith the H ighlander, perhaps m ore especially the Highland Catholic, was som ew hat different. Alike as he was in m any ways to his Lowland countrym en, there were significant differences between them , particularly with respect to language and the work ethic: 88 M ’G regor, op. cit., p. 183. 89 P atterson, “ History of Victoria C o unty” (U npublished M anuscript, 1885), p. 31. 90 See D. F. C am pbell, “ N ova Scotia R epresentation in W h o ’s W ho” (U npublished M anuscript, St. Francis X avier University, 1970), pp. 12-16.

SETTLEMENT

57

Few people, however, find themselves sooner at ease than the H ighland S cotch. . . . T hey acq u ire w hat th ey co n sid e r an independence in a few y e a rs .. . . I have observed, th at w her­ ever the H ighlanders form distinct settlem ents, their habits, their system o f husbandry, disregard for com fort in their houses, their ancient hospitable custom s, and their language, undergo no sensible change. They frequently pass their winter evenings reciting traditional poem s in G aelic, which have been tra n sm itte d to them by th e ir fo r e fa th e r s .. . . A t th eir weddings, and often at their dances, and even at their militia musters, the piper is considered indispensable___ They have always dances at their m arriages, and also when the bride arrives at her lo rd ’s h o u s e .. . . T he L ow land Scotch have dances much in the sam e way and on the sam e o ccasio n s.. . . T he Highlanders are as superstitious in A m erica as they are, or were, in Scotland, believing in second sight, ghosts, and prognostics o f good or evil fortune.91 W ith respect to distinctions betw een H ighlanders and Low lan­ ders, we note in Pictou C ounty the same observation th at was m ade in the others: Accustom ed to extreme poverty, they readily endure hardship, but it is said that they are apt to be content w ith a condition b u t little beyond w hat th ey had previously en jo y ed , and do not show the sam e eagerness for further progress th at others do. This has, to som e extent, been the case where they have settled by themselves, but w here they have mixed with others, there is so much o f the spirit o f em ulation in them , th at they will soon com pete with their neighbours in alm ost anything.92 T heir religious tenets certainly provided scope for discussion and argum ent and, as has been suggested, com petition m ay have provided the ignition: 1 believe, all the feuds o f all the Macs from A to Z, through­ out the Scottish alphabet, have em igrated from their ancient soil, in order to concentrate th eir violence within the precincts o f Pictou. H alf a dozen parties with h alf a dozen different ends in view have lately m ade a clatter in the province, that puts to the blush all the acclam ation o f the ex-agitators of Ireland. The violence of religious sect has kindled the spark, and the petty jealousy o f individual interest, com bined with the self-importance o f individual nothingness, serves to keep 91 M ’G reg o r, op. cit., pp. 184-186. 92 P atterson, P ictou C o u n ty, p. 174.

58

BEY O ND T H E ATLA N TIC ROAR

alive the flame. Pity it is, that w ith a little population which has plenty o f fish to pickle outside o f its harbour’s m outh, and plenty of forest to clear, and o f land to cultivate within its tow nship, should distract its brain w ith political argum ents upon abstract questions o f privilege and party squabbling for sectarian aggrandizem ent.93 A t that stage in history it was possible to rem ove Scots from Scotland, but not religion from concerned Scots: But all those that are interested in C hrist’s righteousness and love the G race cannot alter n o r D eath cannot change for in the m idst o f life we are in D eath th at m an is born to D ie and when he dies he only live in th at Eternale world th at will never end. If this comes to y o u r hand you will----------us how you are com m ing [y/c] on and w hether o r not Popery is the Established religion in C anadie o r not. You are very right to go and hear that old A ntiburgher m inister for he will readly [57'c] preach sound D octron.94 As an exercise in rhetoric and debating, religion proved a won­ derful forum; as an exercise in charity it lacked a great deal. Secularism, w hether recognized or adm itted, was a powerful and perm eating force with the people.

Antigonish County T he nam e “ A ntigonish” itself (with a slight emphasis on the first syllable), is M icmac in origin and first appeared in its present form about 1755.95 The C ounty, between 1784 and 1863, was know n as the C ounty o f Sydney;96 in 1822 part o f St. M ary’s Tow nship was added to it and a division between the U pper and Lower Districts o f the C ounty was m ade in 1823. T he present territory o f A ntigonish C ounty was known as the U pper District while the Lower District becam e know n later as G uysboro C ounty; this separation occurred in 1836.97 However, the name Sydney continued in use until 1863, at which tim e it was changed to A ntigonish C ounty.98 93 W . M oorsom , L etters fr o m Nova S co tia (L ondon, 1 8 3 0 ) , p. 3 5 3 . 94 G eorge Fisher to A ndrew Fisher, M arch 1 9 , 1 8 3 0 , Fisher Fam ily Papers, Pictou, P . A . N . S . 95 Fergusson, op. cit., p. 17. 96 S tatute 24, G eorge ill, C ap v. 97 S tatute 6, W illiam iv, C ap. lxxix . 98 S tatute 26, V ictoria, C ap. xxxvii.

SETTLEMENT

59

T he first Scottish settlers in the C ounty cam e as a result of British imperial policy. A fter the evacuation o f New Y ork by the British, one o f their regiments under the com m and o f Colonel Hierlihy was sent to Halifax and then to the Island o f St. John (Prince Edward Island). The men rem ained there until the end of hostilities and it was during this tenure th at Hierlihy m ade an investigation o f the area. W hile searching for som e military deserters he crossed N orthum berland Strait, cruised along the north shore of the present-day Pictou and Antigonish Counties, and proceeded on to G uysboro, where the deserters were ap p ar­ ently recaptured. On returning hom e, H ierlihy’s attention was drawn to a num ber o f Indians near the m outh o f Antigonish H arbour; proceeding farther inland, it is reported that he was so pleased with the place that he decided to settle there after the w ar.99 W ith the cessation o f conflict in 1783 the regim ent went to Halifax where it was disbanded, and a grant o f 16,600 acres100 lying on both sides of Antigonish H arbour was aw arded to H ier­ lihy and eighty-three others. Since they were veterans they received a m easure o f assistance from the governm ent; provisions for three years, agricultural im plem ents, their military arm s and accoutrem ents, one hundred acres o f land each and a quarter of an acre as a town lot, and a governm ent ship to convey them to their new h o m e.101 Officers received land according to their rank. Rough w eather forced them to take shelter at Beaver H arbour during the w inter o f 1783-84, but on May 12, 1784, they arrived at a place tw o miles in from the entrance o f the harbour. K now n presently as Town Point, it was given the nam e D orchester by the first settlers.102 T he tract ran from M onk’s H ead on the south side of the harbor, and the plaster w orks at K ennedy’s on the north, following the course o f the h arbour and continuing in that direction up to the present districts of Saltsprings and Brierly B rook.103 By June 8, 1894, the farm lots had been surveyed and the draw 99 J. W . M acD onald, m . d . , M anuscript History o f A ntigonish C ounty, (1876), pp. 2-3. 100 T he figure o f 21,600 is given by C . J. M acG illivray in “ T im othy Hierlihy and His T im es", a paper read before the N ova Scotia H istorical Society at Province H ouse, Halifax, on N ovem ber 3, 1935. 101 Ibid., p. (3.) Som e o f the w om en also received tow n lots and the officers drew m ore th an one. 102 Ibid. 103 Ibid., p. 103.

60

B EYOND T H E ATLANTIC ROAR

was m ade, the new settlem ent having been laid out in blocks of 500 acres.104 As could be expected, there w ere problem s con­ nected with this early settlem ent but those of the Royal Nova Scotia Volunteers who rem ained there developed a com fortable style o f life. Since a majority o f the names were those com m on to southern Ireland it would indicate that m any o f the new settlers were R om an Catholic, though Hierlihy was n o t.105 Some of the farm lots were apparently at the eastern end of the present town boundaries, and settlem ent developed in that area, not at the Town Point site. W hen a num ber o f the original settlers moved out and sold their land it was quickly taken up by new arrivals, for the initial settlem ent by the V olunteers had publicized the district. A m ong those arriving in 1785 were some o f Scottish origin.106 A few had been soldiers in the Montague* regiment; som e settled in the M anchester (G uysboro) district, while others cam e to the A ntigonish area. D uring the first year all were accustom ed to travelling to Pictou for supplies, usually by boat, on foot along the coast, or over the m o u n tain .107 T he first H ighland settler in the area was A ngus M acD onald, who acquired 500 acres in Arisaig. He had already taken up a grant at Merigomish in 1783 b u t fear of the Indians caused him to return there. The honour o f being the first perm anent settler on th e gulf shore goes to John Ban Gillies, who was followed by M cA ra and form er m em bers o f th e 82nd H ighland R egim ent.108 T he latter settled along the shore, adopted som e o f their Scottish place names, and established perm anent settlem ents at K noydart, M oidart and Arisaig. A m ong the Highlanders were John Smith, Dugald D an M acD onald, M alcolm , M artin and D onald M ac­ D o n ald .109 Some had moved eastward from Pictou so as to settle with their fellow Rom an C atholics. Spreading ou t along the G u lf Shore, the H ighlanders, largely from Barra, earned their living through fishing and subsistence farming. The m ore comm on nam es am ong those who cam e in the 1790’s and early 1800’s to 104 Ibid. 105 Jo h n sto n , op. cit., p. 126. 106 J . W . M acD onald, op. cil., pp. 3-4. 107 Ibid. T his m o u n tain is presently know n as Brow n’s M ountain. 108 Jo hnston, op. cit., p. 133. 109 M a rtin M a cD o n ald is also cred ited w ith being th e first p erm an en t se ttle r on th e G u lf S h o re , hav in g se ttled a t K n o y d art in 1784 and being the only settler there for tw o years. C . S. M acD onald, “ West H ighland E m igrants in Eastern N ova S cotia", Collections o f the Nova S co tia H istorical S o ciety, (H alifax, 1959). A nother source sta te s th a t M a cD o n ald arriv e d th e re in 1778. P a tte rso n , P ictou C ounty, p. 160.

SETTLEMENT

61

th at area were: M acN eil, M acD onald, M acL ean, Ballantyne, Livingstone and M acEachern. By 1800 there was a string o f small scattered settlements from M erigom ish around to Ballantyne’s Cove on the eastern side o f C ape G eorge. In 1802 they were joined by several hundred R om an C atholic H ighlanders.110 Subse­ quent patterns o f settlem ent naturally turned tow ard the other parts o f the district; the rough trail around the G u lf Shore gave the settlers access to the waters o f N orthum berland Strait as well as a wide-sweeping view o f parts o f C ape Breton and Prince Edward Island.111 The population cam e generally from the W est­ ern Isles and the Highlands, from Inverness, Strathglass and Lochaber, and the names o f A ntigonish C ounty clearly reflect the origins o f the people. By 1817 the settlem ent patterns had been quite well established and during the following decade the social and econom ic fabric o f the county crystallized. Initial settlem ent in the interior followed the rivers and rich intervales; following the settling of the G ulf Shore the W est R iv er112 was opened up in 1795 by Frasers, who were soon followed by M acLeans from M o id art.113 Between 1801 and 1803 the South River district, along with M arydale and M eadow green and other districts along the M anchester R oad, was being populated, largely by M ac­ D onalds from Barradale, M aclsaacs, and Chisholm s from S trath­ glass. O hio, by 1805, had received a num ber o f H ighlanders, including M aclnnises, M acG illivrays and M acLeans, som e o f whom moved away from the river into the wooded section which they nam ed the K ep p o ch ."4 Stew arts from Perthshire and C am ­ erons and M acm illans from Lochaber had moved to the present Lochaber area by 1810. T he lands on both sides o f this lake, particularly tow ards its upper extrem ity, rise from it with abruptness to a considera­ ble elevation, but w ithout rocks or precipices. The w ater is nearly as pure as spring w ater and o f great depth. It is never 110 Jo h n sto n , op. cit., p. 197. 111 Som e o f the earlier settlers at the G u lf Shore and M anchester R oad were brought out by C olonel Fraser, an Im m igration A gent at Pictou. 112 D . J . R a n k in , A H is to r y o f th e C o u n ty o f A n tig o n is h , (T o ro n to , 1929), p. 15. 113 Rev. K . M acL ean, O ur A ncestors, (A ntigonish, 1963). The author asserts th at his people left Scotland because o f religious persecution. 114 W hich was later divided into tw o sections, M orven and M ayfield, with th eir own schools and a mission church served from St. Jo sep h ’s. T oday only a few rem ains o f earlier settlem ents are to be fo u n d , an d th e heavy stillness is d istu rb e d only by th e sc rea m s o f skiers and the slurps o f snow m obiles.

62

BEYOND T H E ATLA N TIC ROAR

frozen, w ith the exception o f a small piece a t its head, until after several weeks o f severe frost; and long after all the neighbouring lakes and stream s are passable for horses and loaded sleighs, it presents for three o r four miles a surface altogether free o f ice. Its breadth is from 40 to 120 rods, and its shores are wholly w ithout rocks, and for the most part of beautiful gravel.115 Beginning in 1804 settlers m oved into the Clydesdale (Y ankee G ra n t)116 and N orth G rant sections, and later to Brown’s M oun­ tain, so that by 1817, and certainly by 1820, most future develop­ m ent by Highlanders occurred in the areas already settled. Pinevale and Glen A lpine were districts th at developed later and am ong the first settlers there were Gillises from O ban in Scot­ land. The vast majority o f the Highland settlers were Rom an C atholics, many o f whom first landed at Pictou in 1791, 1795-96 and 1801, before moving eastward to jo in others o f their c reed .117 D orchester Village (A ntigonish) developed as the principal trading town o f the county because o f its central location. Situ­ ated about a m ile above the head o f navigation on the h arbour, it was . . . one o f the prettiest villages in the eastern section o f Nova Scotia___ It has but one principal street which is serpentine, . . . and contains about 45 dwelling houses, exclusive o f other buildings. T he C ourt H ouse is built on a hill o f m oderate ascent, and com m ands a pleasing view of the whole village, the adjacent intervals, the h arbour and the m ountains o f the G u lf Shore. The R om an C atholic C h a p e l. . . is by much the largest and m ost respectable looking building in the County . . . not a t all disproportioned to the extent of the congrega­ tion. . . . T here is also in the centre o f this village a small Presbyterian M eetin g -H o u se.. . . In this vicinity is a small Baptist M eeting-H ouse, in which m issionaries o f different denom inations of Dissenters occasionally p reach.118 115 H aliburton, op. cit., p. 82. 116 First settled by people from New H am pshire. 117 A m ong those w ho m oved eastw ard to W illiams Point in 1791 were the parents o f C olin M acK innon, later Bishop M acK innon, the founder o f St. Francis X avier University. T he population o f certain districts in 1817 is given as follows: G u lf S h o re -M a lg in a n t Cove, 399; O h io - W e s t River, 103; St. M ary’s, 262; M anchester Road, 113; Settlem ent o f C ape G eorge, 279; M orristow n, 118; Little River and T racadie, 391; H arbour Busher [.«

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