Phineas Lovett Sr. (1711 - bef. 1801)

Born 13 Jul 1711 in Mendon, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Hannah (Merriam) Lovett — married 1 Aug 1731 in Mendon, Massachusetts

Husband of Beulah (Morse) Lovett — married 22 Dec 1742 in Mendon, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died before 24 Dec 1801 before age 90 in Annapolis Royal, Annapolis, Nova Scotia

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Biography

Phineas/Phinehas Lovett was born in 1711 at Mendon, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony, the son of Major Daniel Lovett and Abigail Sprague.^[1] He immigrated to Annapolis, Nova Scotia about 1760 and lived the remainder of his life there. Both Phineas and his son, Phineas Jr., are listed among the grantees for Annapolis Township in October 1765. Phineas married twice — first to Hannah Merriam at Mendon on 7 Aug 1734,^[2] and second, to Beulah Morse at Mendon on 22 Sep 1742.^[2]

Phineas had a total of 11 children — two daughters with Hannah, and six daughters and three sons with Beulah. Six of the 11 died as young children. Phineas Jr. was the only son to survive to adulthood.^[3]

On the 1768 Annapolis Township Census Phineas Lovett's household is recorded as a total of four — three Americans and one Acadian^[4] — possibly Phineas and his daughters, Beulah (1747-1810) and Rachel (1755-1806). Was the Acadian a housekeeper since Phineas' wife had died two years before? By the time of the 1770 Census, Phineas is living alone.

Phineas Lovett was a farmer and erected a gristmill and sawmill. He also served in the militia and was the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Annapolis County, 1770-74. After a long and productive life, Phineas died at Annapolis between 1799 and 1801. His will was proved Dec 24, 1801. He is believed to be buried at the Garrison Graveyard, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia.^[5]

The Lovett Family

The following is from Eaton, Arthur Wentworth Hamilton, 1849-1937. The History of Kings County, Nova Scotia, Heart of the Acadian Land. 1910. Page 735.

"A brief sketch of the Lovett Family is given in the Calnek-Savary History of Annapolis, but its New England origin is not there stated. The History of Milford, Mass., says that Major Daniel Lovett, from Braintree, Mass was an original proprietor of Mendon, Mass., and that he probably lived and died on what is known as "the Lovett Place in the Davenport neighborhood." He m. in Boston (Judge Sewall officiating, certificate in 1721,) Abigail Thompson, of Braintree, and had children: Phineas; James; Hannah; Joanna; Abigail; Samuel; Daniel. Of these children, Phineas, the eldest, b. in Mendon July 13 1711, m. (1) Aug 7 1734 Hannah Merriam (2) late in 1742, Beulah, dau. of Edmund and Rachel (Sheffield) Morse b March 4, 1723. His eldest son was Phineas, Jr., bap. June 30, 1745, m. April 6 1768, Abigail Thayer, and both father and son were well known in in Annapolis County, N.S. For a sketch of Phineas Lovett, Sr. M.P.P. and a notice of his son Phineas, Jr., M.P.P. see the History of Annapolis."^[4]

Phineas Lovett, Jr., M.P.P., who died in 1828, and his wife Abigail (Thayer) had 11 children, of whom the sixth, James Russell Lovett, M.P.P. b. in 1781 m. in 1806, Sarah, dau. of William Allen and Ann (Osborn) Chipman, b. Aug. 10, 1788, and had 11 children. The 9th of these, Eunice S., was m. Nov 25 1847, to George Thomson, of Halifax, later a resident of Wolfville, and Mayor of the town, and had five children.

The 8th child of Phineas Lovett, Jr. M.P.P. was Thomas, who m. Ann, youngest dau. of William Allen and Ann (Osborn) Chipman, b Dec. 16, 1795, and settled in King's County.

Children of Thomas Lovett and Ann Chipman

1. Margaret Ann, b. Nov. 21, 1815, m. to James Leavitt DeWolf, of Windsor, N.S.
2. Sarah Jane, b. Feb 2, 1823, d. unm.
3. Mary Chipman, b. Dec. 14, 1825
4. Henry Edwin, b March 28, 1834, m. Jan. 5, 1859, Annie M., dau of Lewis Johnstone, M.D., and his wife Mary Ann (Pryor), b. Sep 11, 1836, and 9 children, 3 sons and 6 daughters.
5. Agnes T., May 17, 1837, m. to James W. King, M.P.P. of Windsor, N.S. and had children.

One of the most prominent men of Kings Co., for the past quarter of a century has been Henry Edwin Lovett, son of Thomas and Ann (Chipman) Lovett. He has for years held public office in Kentville, his present office being Registrar of Probate for the county.

The Lovett Home at Round Hill

The following is excerpted from the supplement to A. W. Savary's History of the County of Annapolis.

"Phineas Lovett, Senr. (p. 333, Vol. 1). According to Bolton’s History of Milford, Mass., Phineas Lovett, Senr., was son of Major Daniel Lovett by his 1st wife, whose name I do not know, but his 2nd wife was Abigail Thomson of Braintree, to whom he was married Sept. 11, 1721. His immigrant ancestor was Daniel, who settled at Braintree in 1640, and there married Joanna, daughter of Robert Blott, but was not the ancestor of the Lovitt family of Yarmouth, N.S., who are descended from a Lovitt who came to Beverly, Mass., in 1639. Both were probably descended from the same Norman ancester, Richardus de Louet, who came to England with William the Conqueror. The line of descent of this Phineas is Daniel(1), James(2), Major Daniel(3). He was born July 13th, 1711, and was therefore fifty years old when he came to Nova Scotia, and according to the inscription on the Lovett Monument at Round Hill “took possession of Round Hill,” (i.e., the farm granted to him in that district, the Round Hill farm), in 1761. He married, 1st, August 1st, 1731, Hannah Merriam, who died May 21st, 1739; 2nd, December 22nd, 1742, Beulah Morse, who died June 28th, 1766. The date of his death and age, stated on p. 334, are evidently confounded with those of his son, who died, however, in 1828, not 1824. He died in 1801, in which year his will, dated in 1799, was proved, December 24th. (p. 51, supplement)".^[6]

Will

Annapolis County Probate Will Books, Volume 2 174. Page 100, R: 9 May 1829: LA to James R. LOVETT for the estate of Phineas LOVETT Senior of Annapolis. Page 174, R: 6 Jun 1831: Petition of Abigail LOVETT pertaining to the estate of Phineas LOVETT. Estate Folio L10 (1801): LWT of Phineas LOVETT of Annapolis, gentleman was dated 22 Nov 1799 and filed for probate 24 Dec 1801. Children: Phineas LOVETT Junior, Hannah BRUCE, Bulah PETTERS wife of Col. Andrew PETTERS of Westborough, Mass., Abigail WHEELOCK wife of Jesse WHEELOCK, Rachel FAIRBANKS, "daughter Abigail LOVETT wife of Phineas LOVETT". Estate Folio L26 (1828): widow Abagail was old so LA to eldest son. second son Daniel LOVETT. LA eventually granted 9 May 1829 to James Russell LOVETT. Estate Folio L37: more papers for this estate and/or the estate of James Russell LOVETT who was the son of Phineas. folio contains extensive documents concerning the estate and the business being operated by Phineas LOVETT, accounts from 1801 to 1818, a daybook extract from 1800 etc. Page 417, R: 25 Jan 1842: LA to James R. LOVETT, Esq., for the estate of James Russell LOVETT Jun, Esq. Estate Folio L37 (1842): extensive folio of interest to LOVETT researchers.

Monuments at Round Hill

Phineas Lovett and Pierre Thibodeau appear to have had two different parcels of land, which have been memorialized by two separate monuments.

“Founded in 1610, the village is obtained in 1654 by Pierre Thibaudeau, who settles there with his family and builds a mill powered by the waterway, called Des-Loups-Marins. He is called the miller of Round Hill. After his death and that of his wife, the lands are transferred to his children, who will be the owners until the Deportation...In 1981, M.J.L. Martin, Director of the Museum of Nova Scotia, and in collaboration with the Annapolis Royal Historic Association and Historic Society of St. Mary’s Bay, unveils a plaque paying tribute to Pierre Thibaudeau at the exact location where the said mill stood.”^[7]

From Calnek’s “History of Annapolis County...” — “His (Phineas Lovett) own lot was No. 28, which is in the Round Hill District, and the stream which runs through the lot is still known as Lovett's Brook...The first grist-mill and saw-mill erected on that stream was built by Phineas Lovett, sen., who appears to have been a man of enterprise and energy as well as popular among his fellows.”^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ Massachusetts Vital Records Lovett, Phinehas
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Mendon (Mass. : Town); New England Historic Genealogical Society; Baldwin, Thomas W. (Thomas Williams), b. 1849. Vital records of Mendon, Massachusetts, to the year 1850. Publisher Boston, MA : [New England Historic Genealogical Society]. 1920. pg. 341
3. ↑ Vital records of Mendon, Massachusetts, to the year 1850 by Mendon (Mass. : Town); New England Historic Genealogical Society; Baldwin, Thomas W. (Thomas Williams), b. 1849. Publication date 1920 Topics Registers of births, etc. -- Massachusetts Mendon, Mendon (Mass. : Town) -- Genealogy Publisher Boston, MA : [New England Historic Genealogical Society] pp. 119-20
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} W. Calnek, Edited by A. W Savary, M.A. History of the County of Annapolis. 1897. Phineas Lovett, Sen. and numerous other references to Phineas Lovett and family
5. ↑ Cumberland News Now : Round Hill Graveyard Walk tells the tales of earliest English settlement The Lovetts
6. ↑ Savary, A. W. 1831-1920. Supplement to the History of the County of Annapolis: Correcting And Supplying Omissions In the Original Volume. Toronto: William Briggs, 1913. Phineas Lovett, Senr., pg. 51
7. ↑ Sentier Acadia Pree Ronde

• Eaton, Arthur Wentworth Hamilton, 1849-1937. The History of Kings County, Nova Scotia, Heart of the Acadian Land. 1910. The Lovett Family, pp. 735-6
• The Sprague Project Phineas Lovett, M.P.P.
• hhennigar Lovett, Phineas : Membership required, 2018

Acknowledgements

• Researched by Sara V Mosher, 2017-2021