It was their desire to find out who were the early settlers, and where they came from, and to collect all valuable information concerning the early history of this vicinity.He was pleased to see so many descendants of the original settlers of our country present, and see among them the most prosperous of our people.Mr.W.C.Milner, Secretary of the Society, then read an interesting paper on the expedition from New England to capture Fort Cumberland in 1776, under the command of Col.Eddy, and the influences that led to its defeat, notably the firm stand taken by the Yorkshire Royalists against the troops of the Continental Congress, and in favor of the Mother Land and the Old Flag.A good many facts connected with this episode in local history, which has been instrumental in shaping the destiny of the Province of New Brunswick, were for the first time made public.As it will be published in full in an early issue of the POST, together with other papers of the Chignecto Historical Society, it is unnecessary to reproduce it now.
"Judge Morse delivered an interesting address upon the Yorkshire settlers.The condition of our country in 1763 was one of constant strife between the French on the one side and the English on the other.
But in 1763 the latter were victorious, the French driven back, and the country then thrown open for settlement by the English.In 1764Governor Franklyn proposed to settle the very fertile land at the head of the Bay of Fundy with the proper class, and after some correspondence with Earl Hillsboro, Lord of the Plantations in England, he paid a personal visit to Yorkshire, where lived the thriftiest farmers in all England, induced in 1772-3-4 a large number of families to try their fortunes in the New World.In April and May the first arrivals landed on the bleak and rocky coast near Halifax, and surrounded as they were with every discomfort, it was no wonder that they felt discouraged.With their wives the men passed on to Windsor, where they first got a glimpse of the budding orchards left by the French settlers.Here a division was made in the party.The women and children were sent to the head of the Bay by a series of ferries, and the men pushed on to Annapolis, and later joined their families at Chignecto.To the pluck, loyalty, and industry of the Yorkshiremen Judge Morse paid many a tribute.To them do we owe our present connection with the Mother Country.When this country from north to south was rent by the rebellion, when the rivers ran blood, and when the prestige of English arms in Northern America seemed to totter, it was the Yorkshire immigrants who remained firm, and although compelled to suffer untold hardships and privations, yet they remained loyal to that old flag, whose folds he was pleased to see floating in the breeze to-day.The speaker gave fully in detail various particulars of the settlement, of the persons interested, and the location of several important landmarks.The Yorkshiremen have done three great acts: They made the country; they preserved the flag; and they, through the efforts of Preacher Black, founded in this country the principles of Methodism, which has made such steady progress, and which has been the prominent religion for over a century.He closed by asking all who had any historical relics in their possession to communicate with the officers of the society, and allow them to inspect such.Judge Morse was followed by Mr.A.B.Black, Amherst; J.L.Black, Sackville; W.C.