Settling in Penobsquis
Ross W. Caldwell has written a book on the descendants of William Freeze
Dad was reading the Farmer's Almanac and he looked up and said to Mum, "There is going to be a lunar eclipse tonight." "Are you going to let the kids watch it?"
The only movies we ever got to watch were shown in the Hall by Mr. Ross and these ‘talking shows' were a real treat to us. Cliff nudged me and I grinned from ear to ear.
Dad really confused us with his next comment, "The kids will need to dress warmly before they go outside with us as it doesn't start until nine thirty."
We always went to the hall about seven o'clock so I asked Mum, "Why are we not going to the hall until so late?"
Mum's laughter echoed through the kitchen. She explained that a lunar eclipse was caused by the Earth passing between the Sun and the Moon. The bright full moon would get very red and at the time of the total eclipse it would be blocked out.
Although I was a bit disappointed at not getting to see a motion picture and my fingers and toes were cold, I was really excited to see the shadow of the earth pass over the red moon.
Once we came back into the warm kitchen, I asked Dad, "How often does this lunar eclipse happen and how do they know when its going to happen?"
He mumbled something about my asking too many questions and that I had better get off to bed.
If I had been the daughter of William Freeze, who was born in 1781 at Amherst Point, Nova Scotia and later lived in Penobsquis and Springfield, he would have explained this calculation to me. William was a great reader and student and was very fond of mathematics. He could figure out when an eclipse of the sun or moon was going to take place. The young men of the area used to come to him for instructions in mathematics. He was also interested in capillary attraction and found it best to have mulch instead of packed ground to hold the moisture for the benefit of the crops. Also he was a founding member of the Sussex and Studholm Agricultural Society, which was formed in 1841.
By the way, William was the second son and fourth child of William and Mary Freeze who came to Nova Scotia from England in 1772 on board the ship ‘The Duke of York'. William's father, Samuel Freeze and George Bulmer, the younger brother of Mrs. Freeze, were on the ship also.
The group set out from Halifax over portage roads and finally arrived at Amherst Point near the shore of Cumberland Basin. It was here that William bought land and built a frame house for his family.
William's father, Samuel decided to go back to England and it is presumed he was lost at sea, as he was not heard of again.
In about 1801 William bought 900 acres in the Penobsquis area of Kings County, New Brunswick for himself and his four sons. He died in 1812 and tradition says his son, Samuel, who was a mason as his father, engraved the tombstone.
Ross W. Caldwell spent many hours over a period of nine years in gathering
this information and many other facts in preparation to publishing his136
page book of "William Freeze and his Descendants" and has mentioned
more than three thousand names in this family history.
This publication can be found in several research institutions in New Brunswick.
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Query 784
Humphrey - Chamberlain: James Humphrey was born Jan 2,1847 and died
Feb. 28, 1922. He was married to Mary Eliz. Chamberlain in1877 and they had
a farm in Model Farm - sometimes referred to as French Village - near Saint
John. Their children were: Evelyn Eliz.(1878); Annie Estella (1880); William
Hartley (1882); Austin Lebaron (1884); James Fenwick (1886); Sarah (1888);
Edith Dolphin (1890); Robert Loyal (1892); Norvel Boyd (1894); Marion Christine
(1897) - my mother - married Burton Harold Parks and Luella Mae (1900). I
am interested in finding information on the ancestry and siblings of James
Humphrey.
-William Harold Parks, 140 So. Country Ridge Dr., Amsterdam, NY, 12010,
USA. E-mail to muqh49a@juno.com.
Query 785
Finch: I need information on Rev. Titus Finch, a Loyalist, who was
born in 1752 and belonged to King George Raiders. After the war he was a
Baptist minister in New Brunswick and Upper Canada. His wife was Lucinda
and his children were: George, Nancy, D (?), Titus JR, William, Thomas, and
Jeremiah.
-Nancy Sinykin, 2110 Summit Ave., St. Paul, MN., USA. E-mail to NSinykin@aol.com.
Query 786
Dykeman - Coffey: I am looking for information on my Great-grandparents
- Frances Sophia Dykeman and Frederick Allen Coffey who were married on Jun.
6, 1894, inYork County, New Brunswick.
-Charles A. Fournier, 54 Fairlawn Ave., Lewiston, Me., 04240, USA.
E-mail to paycut@exploremaine.com.
Query 787
Prosser - Brown - Barry: Charles Prosser was born in England in
1855. Confusion arises as there are two different Charles. The Charles Prosser,
who I am researching would have been born in the 1830s and believed
to have settled in Prosser's Brook in New Brunswick. He was married to Martha
Brown and they had several children. I believe it was his son Charles, born
in 1855 who married Ida Barry and later lived in New York State. My
main interest is to contact others who are descended from Charles Sr.
or anyone who may be willing to share information on him.
-Miss Rikki Martin, PO Box 803, Skaneateles, NY., 13151, USA. E-mail
to rikki@a-znet.com.