Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
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Location: Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada
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History
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia is a UNESCO World Site, a National Historic Site of Canada and a Heritage Conservation District under the Nova Scotia Heritage Property Act.
Mi'kmaq and French
The Mi'kmaq were numerous in the area around Lunenburg and Mahone Bay, particularly during the summer months. Acadian colonists arrived from France in the 1620's, and co-existed with the Mi'kmaq. These families are managed by the [Acadian Project]. They called their settlement Mirliguèche.
Some family names included: Guédry, Missel, Meuse[1] [2]
British settlement
In 1749, the British established Halifax on land that was Mi'kmaq by treaty[3] [4], which triggered a war. They were unable to attract sufficient settlers from England or the colonies of New England, so they sent recruiters out along the Rhine River in Europe with promises of free land and equipment for farming. Between 1750 and 1742, more than 1,500 settlers came to Halifax from the upper Rhine, mostly protestants from Switzerland, Palatinate Germany, and the Montbéliard region of what is now France[5], but the war prevented the distribution of the promised land, which resulted in a group of dissatisfied settlers.
Some left Halifax and went to Louisbourg, which was under French control (See note on Frederich Hahn's profile.
In July 1753, Cornwallis sent Col. Charles Lawrence to Mirliguèche with 160 soldiers, material for prefabricated blockhouses and supplies for a settlement, and most of the surviving "Foreign Protestants" to found Lunenburg. The resulting conflict again prevented the distribution of farmland. Considering that many of the settlers were French-speaking, there was considerable sympathy between them and the Acadians, and an uprising against the English. After this was put down, some of the Lunenburg settlers crossed to the Acadian side, temporarily. In 1755, when the Acadians were expulsed, the Lunenburg settlers among them were given a choice, and most appeared to have chosen the settlement over expulsion. They swore the oath of fealty to England and were permitted to remain. Farming could now begin, however the town was wholly dependent on supplies from Halifax, and hard times persisted.
In 1758, the English established a legislature in Nova Scotia, the first in any English colony, and the residents of Lunenburg elected 2 representatives[6]. The vote attracted a number of settlers from New England, a wave of migrants called New England Planters, who established new settlements called townships in nearby Chester and Liverpool[7]. The settlers in Lunenburg now had local trading partners, and during this period of peace, began finally to prosper.
The American Revolution was a difficult period, as American privateers prevented trade. Further, they raided Lunenburg in 1782, and devastated the town. Records in Liverpool, such as Simeon Perkins diary show that sailors from Lunenburg volunteered in the first Nova Scotian privateers. Loyalist records indicate that only a handful of Loyalists settled in Lunenburg, however the influx of Loyalists caused the British to retract all land grants, and required the settlers to apply for a new grant for the town, which is dated June 30, 1784.
The town was fortified in the War of 1812, and authorized to operate its own privateer vessel.
Early families
On June 30, 1784, the following were granted land as part of the final founding grant of Lunenburg. Please do not use this as a source, it is transcribed from a transcription, and there may be errors. Further, names are spelled as they appear in the record, often phonetically, and don't reflect the accurate name:
Early industry
Historically Lunenburg has always been a centre for fishing and shipbuilding, including the Bluenose[8]. Farming and forestry also provided sources of income for the early settlers, and more recently, tourism and the film industry have become important to the local economy.
More information
Sources
- DesBrisay, Mather Byles. History of the County of Lunenburg (W Briggs, Toronto, 1895)
- Lunenburg County GenWeb Passenger Lists for Ships Carrying the "Foreign Protestants" to Nova Scotia
- Young, J. Christopher. 2003. Maps Associated With Lunenburg County Family History. Published by the author. (ISBN 0-9730393-1)
See also:
- ↑ August 1726: A Case Study in Mi'kmaq-New England Relations in the Early 18th Century BILL WICKEN; Acadiensis; Vol. 23, No. 1 (AUTUMN/AUTOMNE 1993), pp. 5-22
- ↑ Examination of a Contested Landscape: Archaeological Prospection on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia By Robert H. J. Shears; A Thesis Submitted to Saint Mary‟s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Atlantic Canada Studies.; March, 2013, Halifax, Nova Scotia
- ↑ History of Halifax city by Akins, Thomas B., 1809-1891; Publication date 1895; Publisher Halifax : [Nova Scotia Historical Society]
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Halifax_(former_city)
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Protestants
- ↑ https://nslegislature.ca/about/history/history-voting-nova-scotia
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Township_(Nova_Scotia)
- ↑ https://bluenose.novascotia.ca/
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