John Grant (abt. 1748 - 1825)

Born about 1748 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 1825 at about age 77 in Weymouth, Digby, Nova Scotia

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Maggie N. [send private message], Leigh Anne Dear [send private message], K Belliveau [send private message], and Trish Bruce [send private message]

Biography

Digby is a town in southwestern Nova Scotia on the western shore of the Annapolis Basin near the entrance to the Digby Gut which connects the basin to the Bay of Fundy.

Birth
John Grant's father "David Grant declared his marriage intention towards Susanna Hanners, at Boston, Massachusetts 21st March 1747". ^[1] They were married about one year later on 1st April 1748 at Stone Chapel Church.^[2] John's birth year is estimated at about 1748, give or take, and taking into account the age of his future wife and first born child. John's father David was declared as being Scottish and his mother's family may have been originally from England because based upon a 1768 and 1770 Annapolis Township, Nova Scotia census record, she is declared as being "American" [probably a former Massachusetts resident based upon their marriage location].

After the 'Expulsion of the Acadians', and probably taking advantage of large land grants, David Grant relocated his small family to Annapolis Township, Nova Scotia. In a 1768 'Census of Residents' for Annapolis Township is David Grant who is declared as being of Scottish origins and who resides in a household of three members where two are male and one is female. Two of these household members are declared as being "American". Translated, this implies that David's wife and son are from "America" because he is sworn as being Scottish. David's land allotment of five hundred acres is the "standard allotment" for these lands vacated by the Acadians as explained by Calnek.^[3]

In the summer of 1765 John Grant's future in-law Jeremiah Sabean, Jr. along with others, were sailing along this Annapolis County coastal area pursuing the fish schools. [Wilson, p.35] Jeremiah Sabean would become a permanent resident of Digby which is probably how his daughter Mary met her future husband John.

Marriage and Children
Mary married John Grant, son of David and Susanna Grant, about 1775. ^[4] John Grant was a farmer in Annapolis Valley. Their known children were ^[4] :

1. David Grant, named for his paternal grandfather
2. Jeremiah Sabean Grant, 3rd, named for his maternal grandfather
3. Susanna, b. abt 1780, Annapolis, name after her mother
4. Henry, b. 17 Dec 1782, Sissiboo; d. aft. 1858; he m. Mary Charlton, dau of James & Sarah Charlton, on 23 oct 1806, Wilmot Parish (by Rev. Handley Chipman)
5. Mary Grant, b. 1784 ; m. 1804, John Mullin (b. 18 Jun 1782) ; she d. 1861, age 77 yrs. [Chute Family History, p. cv (Mullin)]
6. Abraham, christened 20 May 1792, Trinity Anglican, Digby; d. 24 Nov 1873, Port Lorne, Annapolis [CM 24Dec1873; ae 82] ; burial Fundy View Cem; m. Experience DeLong, dau of Simon & Experience DeLong.
7. Philena, christened 20 Feb 1796, Trinity Anglican, Digby, Nova Scotia

Residency and Miscellaney
A small group of New England Planters settled in the area of Digby in the 1760's naming it Conway however in 1783 when Digby Township was founded by the United Empire Loyalists, under the leadership of Sir Robert Digby, the Digby name remained. ^[5]

The first town records include the following land grant transactions [Among those named] "John Grant, 1783, Ownership of land in Conway [later Digby] Twp., Annapolis, Nova Scotia."

"All settlers in the Township of Conway, County of Annapolis. Were given the land by the late Michael Franckin. Copy of Franckin's statement in the Book of Records, Annapolis, dated 1775 attached to memorial. Have been informed that Conway is to be forfeited to the Crown. Memorial for consideration."^[6]

1784 Confirmation of ownership of land in Digby Township is obtained through a list of land owners which included John's extended Sabean family in-laws:

Jeremiah Sabean (Jr.) [father-in-law to John Grant] ; David Grant ; John Grant [son of David] ; Benjamin Sabean [son of Jeremiah Sabean, Jr.] ; Willoughby Sabean [son of Jeremiah Sabean, Jr.], in addition to others. ^[7]

In 1816 John Grant, Sr. appears in a Weymouth, Annapolis County Tax List. ^[8] Also recorded in the same list were:

David Grant [John Grant's father] ; Jeremiah Sabean Grant [John Grant's son] ; John Grant, Sr. [this WikiTree profile] ; Benjamin Sabean, Jr. [John Grant's nephew on his wife's side] ; Benjamin Sabean, Sr. [John Grant's brother-in-law on his wife's side] ; David Sabean [John Grant's brother-in-law on his wife's side] ; Jeremiah Sabean, Sr. [John Grant's father-in-law] ; Timothy Sabean [John Grant's brother-in-law on his wife's side ] ; Willoughby Sabean [John Grant's brother-in-law on his wife's side]

Nathan Savary, Sr. [Nathan was the husband of Jeremiah Sabean, Sr.'s daughter Deidamia (Sabean) Savory and John Grant's brother-in-law on his wife's side.] ; Sabine Savary [John Grant's brother-in-law on his wife's side]

Wife "Mary (Sabean) Grant was probably the 25th person to sign the original membership list of the Sissiboo Baptist Church, [as a] Resident of Weymouth, Nova Scotia." ^[4]

Death

Sources

1. ↑ A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston containing the Boston Marriages from 1700-1751: City Document No. 150" p.288. [See 22nd record down from top left page.] Boston, Massachusetts, USA: Municipal Printing Office, 1898, 468pp. Reprinted ($ online db) Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Accessed 16 Mar 2023. Source quoted verbatim. https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/2496948?mark=f1476a67522c9ca0ba238b745144b506d9f76404e30602fe59ea6c61fba6fd82
2. ↑ "Transcript of Boston Marriage Records, 1720-1772: Church Records" p.106. (116pp.) [See 9th record down from top left page.] Reprinted ($ online db) "Massachusetts, U.S. Town & Vital Records, 1620-1988: Boston Marriages" Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Accessed 17 Mar 2023. https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/2510306?mark=c34d1eab96ce0d2904b7c8a0fcbdfd6183b88355423f45d8a5807bea7893fd3d
3. ↑ Calnek, W.A. & Savary, A.W., ed. "History of the County of Annapolis, Nova Scotia" Chap. X. The Township of Annapolis, 1755-1775 [Town Records] p.152-153. Toronto: William Briggs Publishing ; Montreal: C.W. Coates ; Halifax, S.F. Huestis ; London: Phillimore & Co., 1897. Reprinted ($ online db) Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Accessed 17 Mar 2023.

   p.152. (begin census list for 1768) https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/2508840?mark=a4702656926d46b5b57c1f2aec934c3060e314680bdbc26e79f1b5320ba70699

   p.153.(David Grant on this page) https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/2508699?mark=0c9b2b45f9989823076304aeba69a12c946768fb9c40bbf339b56a4a22a53e74

   p.154. (end Census list for 1768) https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/2509348?mark=a8ab887b86350cceb5465b4b4041704bff3c529a99aefc7eab26e9ad0a427947

4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Morris, Gordon Alan, ed. "The Descendants of Jeremiah Sabean of Nova Scotia [One Volume in the Set including "Descendants of William Sabin of Rehoboth, Massachusetts]" p.11. Pub. Aiea, Hawaii, May 1991. https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/108564-descendants-of-jeremiah-sabean-of-nova-scotia?viewer=1&offset=24#page=18&viewer=picture&o=info&n=0&q=
5. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digby,_Nova_Scotia
6. ↑ Nova Scotia Archives; Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada "Nova Scotia Land Petitions (1765-1800)" Vol No. 1. Reprinted ($ online db) No image file with this record, source has been quoted verbatim. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Provo, UT, USA, 2012.
7. ↑ Wilson, Isaiah W. "A Geography and History of the Country of Digby, Nova Scotia: Appendices "C" Preamble to Grant of [Township Land] Confirmation." p.390. [See 9th-7th line up from right page bottom.] Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, 1895. Reprinted ($ online db) Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Accessed 16 Mar 2023. https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/2497312?mark=68d7977c51190df59044de180efff0ba548c59c6ff6c95f0ec437edf64a15320
8. ↑ Wilson, Isaiah W. "A Geography and History of the County of Digby, Nova Scotia" Appendix "R", p. 457. Halifax, N.S., Canada, 1895. Reprinted ($ online db) Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Accessed 17 Mar 2023. https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/2507468?mark=9c460aedd06ea97749b0f0e86ba0776a9a519f75e7cc2fc33afa6cfcfa4781a3

Acknowledgements

• Contributions by direct descendant Leigh Anne (Johnson) Dear
• gedcom upload by K Belliveau
• See also http://www.genealogy.com/ftm/s/p/o/K-R-Spooner/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0743.html for a list of other gedcom upload descendant family members.