Francis & Elizabeth Perkins of Horton, NS

It became harder and harder to eke out a living in Colonel Connecticut as its population swelled from around 38k in 1740 to 76k in 1750 to 141k in 1760. So opportunistic New Englanders must have rejoiced when the English Governor of Nova Scotia, Charles Lawrence, posted placards offering free land. The British troops had just evicted the local French inhabitants, the Acadians, following France’s loss in the French and Indian War. Looking back, there is some regret in Canadian history since this episode involved the expulsion of many settled families including women and children. Over 10000 eventually left in 1755 including the majority of those Acadians who resettled in Louisiana and became known as the Cajuns. However, for the English Perkins family, this land presented a great opportunity since much of it was quite fertile due to the Acadian’s hard work in creating a system of dykelands in the high tidal area region. Proclamations were issued in various New England states to entice settlers. This group of 8000 individuals are called the “New England Planters”. Francis Perkins, along with many others in the area, accepted the offer. In 1761 they settled in Horton, Nova Scotia.

Horton
New London County was a particularly popular area for recruiting. Per New England tradition, the locals used a town meeting to negotiate the terms with an agent of Charles Lawrence which included the land, free transport, freedom of religion, and military protection. Initially, the signup concluded around 1758, but unrest in the region due to local Indians and rebel French delayed the settlement for a few years. During that gap, the list morphed as individuals opted to remain in Connecticut. Finally, the selected individuals, including members of the Perkins and Peck families, sailed for their new land as described by R.S Longley in “The Coming of the Planters”, 1960:

“On June 4, 1760, the main flotilla, consisting of twenty-two ships hired by the Government of Nova Scotia to transport the Connecticut Planters to Horton and Cornwallis rounded Cape Blomidon and anchored in the estuary of the Avon and Gaspereau rivers. It was escorted by a brig of war under the command of Captain Pigot. Assuming that the vessels were the usual sloops and schooners of average size, they must have carried an average of fifty passengers each, plus stock and equipment. The total cost of the Rogers and Pigot ships was about £1500. The Cornwallis settlers landed at what was Boudreau’s Bank, now Starr’s Point, and the Horton settlers at Horton Landing. At first they lived in tents and temporary shelter. Almost at once they held Town Meetings, or assemblies of grantees, at which the usual lot layers and other officials such as clerk, constable, and herdsmen were appointed. The lot layers divided the land which was drawn for in the usual way. Most heads of families received the regular share of 500 acres, but some were granted a share and a half, and a few a half-share. Each had a town lot and a portion of marshland, upland, and woodland. Soon all were busy building houses and tilling the soil.”

A couple of lists of the early settlers remain. First, the original grant of the township of Horton can be found in the files of the Nova Scotia Archives at Dalhousie University. Second, a fascinating plot of the town lot, or Palisade, survives with the names of initial settlers. The townspeople initially lived in this palisaded area for safety, but then ultimately settled on their farmed land. These lists contain some different names reflecting the changing population of Planters, but they share one big surprise: Francis Perkins name is not named, but rather it’s Abraham Perkins, presumably Francis’s father. So Abraham probably showed interest during the initial town hall meetings, and that he could have set foot in Nova Scotia. Other names on the map include various members of the family of Francis and Elizabeth, most notably her father, two brothers and an uncle.

This first description of the land comes from “Extract from a letter of Lieut. Gov’r Belcher to the Lords of Trade”, 11 Jan 1762:

“This Township begun its Settlement 1760, was granted to Two Hundred proprietors. The present Families now settled in this Township are in Number One Hundred and fifty containing Nine Hundred persons. They have imported a large Stock of Cattle cut Hay sufficient for their Stock, but their Corn mostly blasted by the excessive draught this Summer. This Township contains about Five Thousand Acres of Marsh Lands, and three thousand Acres of Cleared upland. The Proprietors have divided their Lands which they judged improvable Land, and it amounts to One Hundred Acres to each Right or Share. The remainder are unimprovable Lands, two Ridges of Mountains Running thro’ the Township, the west end of this Township, Sandy barren Land, the natural growth is Spruce, Fir, White Birch, poplar and white Pine, the growth of Timber small, the Woods having been leveled by Fire about fifty years since. This Township lies on the Basin of Minas, the River Gaspero lying near the Center on which the Town is laid out, is navigable for any Vessel that can lay aground, their being Seven fathom at high Water, at low Water the Lands are in a manner dry.”

The early years proved challenging. They started without established government, churches or schools. Their main religion was Congregationalist, which meant they distrusted the British government and expected a form of Puritan self-rule based on town meetings. However, they now lived on an island, isolated from their former homeland. It took years for a minister to arrive, and he proved unpopular. This gap would give an opportunity to other religions to gain a strong foothold, most prominently the Baptist with its evangelical tone, that evolved from the Great Awakening.

The Revolutionary War occurred over 14 years after the settlement of the New England Planters. It was a very complicated situation because you had individuals sympathetic to the colonies and to the crown in both Lyme and Horton – even within the same family. But reality dictated that they could not go back home. Their means of livelihood, farming their land, lay in Canada. Nova Scotia, which almost joined the fight as the 14th colony, would remain neutral, in part, so that brother would not have to fight brother.

After the war, Nova Scotia saw a new influx of New Englanders – the Loyalists  – displaced individuals who wanted to remain loyal to the crown. Loyalists had some different values than their Planter brethren. Their religion favored Church of England with a more centralized government control, so you see political power shifting to Halifax. Initially, friction developed with the newcomers who competed for land and resources. However, as time went on, the similarities of the two group overcame the differences. After a while, both groups referred themselves as Loyalists since Canada remained proudly a British Colony.