Category Archives: History

Letter Excerpt by David Taylor, April 14, 1873, Stonehaven Journal

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Letter by David Taylor dated April 14, 1873, written at Fredericton, New Brunswick; published in Stonehaven Journal, Thursday 08 May 1873

NEW KINCARDINESHIRE COLONY.— On Thurs-last, a letter was received from the Secretary of the new colony, who has gone out to make arrangements for the colonists previous to their arrival, from which we give the following extract. From it, friends of the colonists left behind will be glad to see that they are likely to meet with a very warm reception:—
Fredericton, 14th April, 1873.
Having arrived at St. John this day week, we there spent two days—leaving on Wednesday for this place—the political capital of New Brunswick. It is a city of about 6500 inhabitants, and one of the prettiest places I ever saw. Continue reading →

Letter from William Duncan, Stonehaven Journal – Thursday 10 July 1873

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Letters from New Kincardineshire, Victoria County, New Brunswick to Scotland

NEW KINCARDINESHIRE COLONY.
The following letter from a working man to a fellow workman in Stonehaven shows the philosophical spirit with which some persons endure the greatest hardships. It bears a marked contrast when compared with the grumbling epistles of colonists in much easier circumstances:—
Carron Terrace, Stonehaven Road,
New Kincardineshire, Victoria County, N. B.
June 1, 1873
Dear Friend,
I am happy to say that we are all well. The fact is I was not so lucky as to get away from St John with the first lot of the Colony. Continue reading →

Colony cadastral, interactive version

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Zoomed view. Click image to go to map.

Scotch Colony area view. Click image to go to map.

This is the same combined map from NB Dept of Lands and Mines I had in an earlier post, but now it’s interactive – overlayed on Google Maps.

Zoom (controls in lower right) and scroll (drag mouse). Remove overlay for a better view of the underlying satellite photo.

It may take a while for the overlay to appear. It’s a big file.

The overlay is misaligned near the edges. Look at the underlying photo for roads, fields, and clearcuts to reorient lot lines.

The original cadastral images were downloaded from the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick. I still don’t know what time period is represented on the maps. Probably after 1880 to 1980.

What’s next?

  • add places mentioned in New Kincardineshire by Duncan A MacPhail
  • add more and more…

 

 

Plan of New Kincardineshire 1873 Beckwith Map 110917-1

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“Plan of New Kincardineshire containing 25,000 acres / by Charles E. Beckwith, D.L.S. [Deputy Land Surveyor]. – 1873. – 1 sketch : pen and ink. The plan gives the names of the settlers, the number of the lot assigned to each, and the number of acres each received (100 or 200 acres). Rivers, streams, and roads are also noted. MC42-MS21-7 B. R. Stevenson fonds, Charlotte County Archives. ”

Note area on right (south) is labeled New Stonehaven, now called Kincardine and Bon Accord further east. The area on the left is labeled Kintore as it is still called.

Jean found the map at the New Brunswick Archives site.

Jean counts 63 lots in the New Stonehaven area with names on them. Of the 63, probably 10 are unmarried sons who qualified for their own 100 acre lot (the lots on the  north side of Kincardine road are 100 acres.)

Were the names written down as families signed up in the (old) Stonehaven, Scotland, newspaper office?

This map was assembled by Bill Duncan from 8 pieces downloaded from the New Brunswick Archives. http://archives.gnb.ca/Exhibits/PlannedSettlements/ImageList.aspx?culture=en-CA&Link=MC42-MS21-7-1of8%7CP29-15&t=Kincardine&title=Perseverance+&p=11&of=14. There is a piece of the map missing (lot 36 in New Stonehaven) on the original scans. The gap I show may exaggerate the distance.

http://archives.gnb.ca/Exhibits/PlannedSettlements/ImageList.aspx?culture=en-CA&Link=MC42-MS21-7-1of8%7CP29-15&t=Kincardine&title=Perseverance+&p=11&of=14

Plan of New Kincardineshire 1873, C. Beckwith.

I’m experimenting with overlaying this map on Google maps satellite photos: http://williamlduncan.com/GoogleMapOverlayAPIBeckwith1873_122217-1.html  Zoom in on the Google map to see any mismatches between the lines on the map image and the edges of the fields visible on the satellites photo.

Christmas Past in the Scotch Colony

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Jan. 12, 1894, Kincardine Colney [sic], Northern Leader: The Christmas tree which was held in the new hall was a great success. It was estimated that there was over one hundred dollars worth of presents on it. The evening passed very pleasantly with dialogues and recitations until about ten o’clock when tea was passed around and a hearty supper was disposed of, then after a few more dialogues and speeches the presents were disposed of and the fun for the evening closed by singing Auld Lang Sine [sic].

Jan. 4, 1900, Kintore, NB, Northern Leader: A large number from here attended the concert and dance at Kincardine Tuesday evening.
An entertainment and Xmas tree was held in the school room Xmas night. After the program was most ably carried out by all who took part refreshments were served of which all partook and did ample justice. The presents were then distributed from off the tree and all left about twelve o’clock after they had spent a most enjoyable evening.

Dec. 30, 1903, Upper Kintore, NB, Fort Fairfield Review: Several of the young people attended the Christmas tree and dance at Upper Kincardine Friday evening.
On Christmas Eve a Christmas tree and concert was held in the school house. At the concert supper was served by the ladies, after which the tree was stripped of its presents for old and young. On account of the disagreeable weather and the icy roads, the attendance was not as large as it would otherwise have been. But everybody enjoyed themselves thoroughly.

Jan. 11, 1905, Upper Kintore, NB, Fort Fairfield Review: The Sunday school held its Xmas tree in the schoolhouse on Friday evening. The affair was very largely attended, and an interesting program was successfully carried out by the members of the school under the skillful management of their teacher, Miss McCarthy.
Several of our young people attended the Xmas tree at Kilburn and the dance in Kincardine on Monday night.

Jan. 3, 1906, Kintore, NB, Fort Fairfield Review: A concert and Christmas tree was held Friday evening for the Sunday school. Before distributing the gifts, refreshments were serveed. A large number were present and a very enjoyable evening was spent.

Dec. 26, 1906: Kintore, NB, Fort Fairfield Review: A Christmas concert in the hall Christmas eve, also a tree for the children.

Jan. 6, 1909, Upper Kintore, NB, Fort Fairfield Review: A Christmas concert and tree was held in the hall Christmas eve. There were many outsiders in attendance and all report a pleasant time spent.

Jan. 5, 1910, Kintore, NB, Fort Fairfield Review: The Christmas tree and concert held in the hall on Friday evening for the young people was a grand success.

 

Colony Featured on Scotland TV documentary

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Scotland TV’s The People’s History Show;
Episode: The Scots who made Canada
“Host David Farrell presents a special episode exploring Scotland’s links to Canada, as the country celebrates its 150th birthday.”

On September 27, 2017, David and Ian Hendry (director/camera) interviewed several Scotch Colony folks  and videoed scenes at a Burn’s Hall Music Night and dance.

You can view a bootleg copy here (until I get busted):
https://youtu.be/Cff7PE0FeyU

Originally Broadcast Mon 13 Nov, 8.00 pm in the UK. If you are in the UK you should be able to view the show online at:
http://player.stv.tv/summary/peoples-history/

Video of the Kincardine Memorial Service, 23 July, 2017

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The Upper Kintore Memorial Service will be 2pm, Sunday, 27 August, 2017 at the Upper Kintore United Church.

“Like” the new Facebook Page about Upper Kintore

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Garth Farquhar has created a new Facebook Page and is posting “A collection of stories and pictures of Upper Kintore New Brunswick. Upper Kintore was settled in 1874 by Scottish immigrants who came over on the Sidonian”

Please “Like” his page: https://www.facebook.com/UpperKintore/

Garth has also added many points of interest on our Scotch Colony Google Map that identify places in his stories.

View this map, full screen,  in Google Maps. https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?ll=46.68191667674333%2C-67.63556170342184&hl=en&z=11&authuser=0&mid=1FJVCNDbiyv7HmsbPJkIw-L0PAUI

140th Anniversary of “Sidonian” Colonists

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"Sidonian" 11 April 1874; The "Sidonian" leaves Glasgow. via Callum Stuart, FB Chapman, Cumming, & Duncan Family History, April 12, 2014;

The “Sidonian” leaves Glasgow. (Thanks to Callum Stuart for the clipping.)

The Provincial Archives of New Brunswick provides a list of names and ages of Scottish immigrants who were passengers arriving in St. John, New Brunswick by the Sidonian on May 14, 1874, ending the log with this news item that tells what happened next:

“16 May 1874 – Woodstock, N.B., 15th May -The train with the Scottish immigrants arrived here at half past 4 this afternoon, under the charge of Mr. STEWART. They are now being transferred to the steamer “Ida Whittier”, Capt. Rideout, which leaves at 8 p.m. They will arrive opposite Mr. BEVERIDGE’s at Andover (Victoria Co.) tomorrow forenoon and proceed at once to their future homes, up the Tobique River some seven miles where the settlement commences and extends to New Stonehaven.  ”

About 210 colonists sailed April 30-May 14, 1874, arriving in Andover, New Brunswick about May 16, 1874.

Thirteen-year-old William Cumming tells the story of the voyage across the Atlantic and up the St. John River to Upper Kintore here.

At the 75th anniversary of the Upper Kintore Church on September 1, 1968, it was noted in the church bulletin: “Miss Elsie Innes is the last living survivor, who came over from Scotland in May, 1874 on S. S. Sidonian, with a passenger list of 219, who settled in Upper Kintore, Bon Accord and S. Tilley. She is now 95 years of age, and resides in a Rest Home, Portland, Oregon.”

Here is a link to a related spreadsheet: Scotch Colony: Castalia & Sidonian passenger lists compilations. Use the tabs along the bottom to view different lists.

The Scotch Colony and Burns Night 1919

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Published in the Presque Isle, Maine newspaper, Star Herald, Feb. 13, 1919 and is signed at the end of the article by W. L. Duncan

Many years ago, to be exact, in 1873, a Scotch sea captain whose ship plied between Scotland and St. John, on occasion of a voyage when he had some time on his hands in St. John, took a run up the river. Noting the big domain of government wild land he saw on the trip, he conceived the idea of bringing a colony of his neighbors in Old Kincardine across, and settling them in New Brunswick.

Going back home he succeeded in recruiting a colony, secured a grant of land for a settlement, and the movement resulted in transplanting about 400 hardy Scotch people, and their settlement in what is known as the Scotch Colony, a place about 30 miles due east of Presque Isle. Continue reading →