William Baxter MD MPP (1760 - 1832)

Born 1760 in Hartland, Hartford County, Connecticut

Ancestors

Husband of Ruth (Sheffield) Baxter — married 13 Mar 1783 (to 6 Nov 1793) in Cornwallis, Kings Co., Nova Scotia

Descendants

Died 22 Nov 1832 at about age 72 in Cornwallis, Kings, Nova Scotia

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Biography

William was born in 1760 in Hartland, Connecticut.

He married (1st) 13 Mar 1783, Ruth, daughter of Amos and Mary (Harrington) Sheffield. She was born in Cornwallis, 22 Apr 1762,

On 18 Dec 1785 in St. Johns Anglican Church, Cornwallis Township, Sarah, born 1785, daughter of William and Ruth Baxter, was baptized.

On 17 Jun 1793 in St. Johns Anglican Church, Cornwallis Township, John, born 5 May 1790, son of William and Ruth Baxter, was baptized.

He married (2nd), 13 Dec 1795 in St. Johns Anglican Church, Cornwallis Township, Julia Swigo (or Swigard).

On 25 Jul 1814 in St. Johns Anglican Church, Cornwallis Township, William, age 17, Ruth, age 15, Juliana, Charlotte and Elizabeth, all children of William & Juliana Baxter, were baptized.

A. W. H. Eaton gives the following account of Dr. Baxter in The history of Kings County, Nova Scotia: "Dr. William Baxter, M. P. P., one of the earliest physicians in the county, was distinctly a person of note. He was the son of Captain Simon Baxter, a Loyalist, of Alstead, N. H., who, on the 25th of December, 1781, was granted leave by the town to remove with his family to St. John, N. B. He came to New Brunswick, but settled at Norton instead of in St. John. He married Prudence (perhaps Fox), and had eight children. Of these, Dr. William Baxter, born in 1760, came in 1782 to Cornwallis, where he remained for a short time. He then went back to New Brunswick, but from 1786 he lived permanently in Canard Street, Cornwallis, practicing his profession all over the county. He died in Cornwallis, 22 Nov 1832, aged 72, and was buried in the Upper Canard burying ground, near what had been his home. For his two marriages, see the Baxter Family Sketch. His wives are buried near him. About 1803 he bought land on the North Mountain, from David Eaton, which possibly later led his son, John B. Baxter, to settle at "Baxter's Harbour," which place on the Bay Shore thus received its name. The leading contemporary physicians with Dr. Baxter, in the townships of Cornwallis and Horton, were Dr. Samuel Willoughby, and later Dr. Isaac Webster. It is said that often in the winter when the snow was too deep for horses or sleighs Dr. Baxter was obliged to visit his patients on snow-shoes. He had many business interests besides his profession. It is said that he built at different times no less than seven vessels, and that he also owned saw-mills. He represented the town of Cornwallis from 1793 to 1799. Tradition has perpetuated a few of his terse remarks. It is told of him that once when a man was praising his great skill, as shown in the remarkable recovery of a patient from some severe sickness, be briefly said: "The Lord cures, and the doctor takes the fee!" At a certain time there came to the county another physician. Someone asked Dr. Baxter if the other was a good doctor. Dr. Baxter answered: "He may be, a pig may whistle, but his mouth is not formed for it."

William wrote his Last Will and Testament, 21 Nov 1832, leaving bequests to his wife Mrs. Julia Ann and daughters Ruth, Eliza, Charlotte Huestis and Julia Ann. The will was probated 14 Dec 1832.

Children (first four by first marriage :

1. Benjamin, b. 6 Dec 1783, d. 1 Jun 1784.
2. Sarah, b. 4 Mar 1785, m. 24 Feb 1807, Nathan Woodworth, and had 8 children,
3. Benjamin Belcher, b. 17 Apr 1787.
4. John B., b. 2 May 1789, at Moncton, N. B., m. in 1809, Sarah, dau. of Matthew and Mary Fisher, b. 29 Jun 1793. He lived at Baxter's Harbour, to which place he gave his name. He d. there in Nov., 1872.
5. William, b. ca 1797.
6. Ruth, b. ca 1799, d. ca 1859.
7. Juliana.
8. Charlotte, m. __ Huestis
9. Elizabeth, m. 24 Apr 1837, Daniel Bishop, d. 7 Apr 1852.

Sources

• Marriage - Kings County Cornwallis Township Book of Marriages - William Baxter & Ruth Sheffield 1783-03-13
• The history of Kings County, Nova Scotia, heart of the Acadian land, giving ... by Arthur Wentworth Hamilton Eaton.
• Kings County Vital Statistics CD
• Nova Scotia Probate Records, Kings Co - see Images
• Tangled Roots: Descendants of John Bishop (1709-1785) of Horton, Nova Scotia, a New England planter family, Volume IV, Timothy Bishop, page 21.

Thanks to Rob Hoyt, for starting this Wikipage.