Thursday, January 15, 2015

My Canadian Branches ~ Bounty Land for Archibald Brothers



The four sons of John Archibald (my sixth great grandfather) of Londonderry, New Hampshire, all served with His Majestry's Provincial Militia during the French & Indian War.

His two oldest sons, David and Samuel, served under Captain Alexander McNutt. David enlisted as a private, while Samuel was a corporal. Their enlistment lasted 27 weeks, from May 26th to November 30th, 1760. David's military pay totalled £12, 3s.

His third son, James, initially served with the King's New Hampshire Militia, and marched to Fort Edward and Fort William Henry, near Lake George, New York, in 1755. There he was commissioned a Sergeant and transferred to Captain Robert Rogers' Rangers, the scouts who communicated between British and American colonial forts. He was captured by the French in April of 1756, and taken to Montreal as a prisoner of war. He remained there until he escaped five months later. He rejoined Rogers' Raiders, warning General John Winslow that Montcalm was preparing to attack the British with 14, 000 men.

The Victory of Montcalm's Troops at Carillon
By Henry Alexander Ogden (1854-1936)
 (Online Transferred from en.wikipedia) [Public domain],
 via Wikimedia Commons


The fourth and youngest son, Thomas (my fifth great grandfather), served as a private in His Majesty's service on the Merrimack River, under the command of Colonel Joseph Blanchard, from September 17th to November 16th, in 1754. He was paid £5, 19 shillings, and 9 pennies.

For their service to the King, the four Archibald brothers, perhaps through the auspices of Alexander McNutt, were granted land in the British territory of Nova Scotia. They were part of a settlement effort which began in 1760, whereupon they eventually brought their wives, children, and extended families to the mouth of the Salmon River, as it flowed into Cobequid Bay.




David and his family settled in Nova Scotia by the summer of 1762. He was allotted 2 rights (or shares) amounting to 1000 acres in the newly formed Truro Township. His "House Lot" portion was situated on the north side of the Salmon River (in the area now known as Bible Hill) and this was where he built his home.

Bible Hill


Samuel and his family came to Nova Scotia in the year 1762, with the date December 13th being recorded in county histories as the date of their arrival at Fort Belcher. If this is true, then it is very likely that Samuel and his elder sons would have been here for a time before this date, preparing for their family as they could not have arrived in December without having shelter and provisions.

James was briefly in Truro Township in 1762, but returned to New Hampshire to take care of unfinished personal business. One, in particular was to sue his former commander, Robert Rogers, for pay and bounties he had not received during his military service. He eventually won his case, sold his property, settled his debts, and headed to Nova Scotia. His 500 acres of land were also on the north side of the Salmon River.

Thomas, my fifth great grandfather, along with his wife, Janet Orr, arrived in Truro Township in 1762, with two small children, and an infant who had been born aboard ship during the voyage. They also settled on Bible Hill, adjacent to the properties of David and Samuel. Along with his family came his sister Elizabeth, Elizabeth's husband Matthew Taylor, his sister Eleanor, Eleanor's husband William Fisher, and his sister-in-law Martha Orr, with her husband Samson Moore.


Photo Credit:

Bible Hill 1800s
(http://www.biblehill.ca/history-of-bible-hill.html#!ARIALPHOTO)

The Victory of Montcalm's Troops at Carillon
(http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AThe_Victory_of_Montcalms_Troops_at_Carillon_by_Henry_Alexander_Ogden.JPG)

Sources:

Colchester Families Database, maintained by Jane Wile at www.genejane.com.

GeneJane's Roadmap to Colchester Families at www.genejane.com.

Miller, Thomas. Historical and genealogical record of the first settlers of Colchester County, down to the present time, compiled from the most authentic sources. (1873).

Marble, Allan Everett. The Archibald family of Nova Scotia: No reward without effort. (2008)





2 comments:

  1. Nice post! According to my research, John Archibald and his wife Margaret Wilson had more than four sons of their 9 children, although I have not traced all of them.
    David 1717-1797
    Samuel 1719-1774
    Robert 1722-? presumably died in childhood
    Eleanor 1724-1791
    Elizabeth 1726-1809
    John 1729-1828
    James 1731-c1800
    Thomas 1733-1796
    Margaret 1735-after 1754

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