The Tides of
Discipline
Chance Harbour, Dipper Harbour and Maces Bay
by Ethel Anne Thompson
Our willow fishing poles and a can for
the
worms were waiting by the back door step. The alarm clock was set for
5:30
a.m. as Gord was taking us on a long awaited fishing trip, way up the
Wicker
Brook. According to him, if we wanted to have a good catch, it was
necessary
to get fishing before the sun became bright.
If we had been one of the Mawhinney, Cassidy, Thompson or Ellis
children
who lived in Maces Bay, Dipper Harbour or Chance Harbour our departure
time
for going fishing would have depended on the tide.
In fact, you might say the tide ruled the working day and the lives of
the
folk who lived on the coastline. In 1978, Ethel Thompson titled her
history
of those three traditional fishing communities, “The Tides of
Discipline”.
Mrs. Thompson relates that a Mr. Hunt and John Gill built a fishing
weir
at Pocolgan in the1790s. George Younghusband gave them supplies to the
amount
of thirty pounds to carry on the fishery.
Long Beach was the first deep-water weir at Dipper Harbour. It was
built
in the early part of the nineteen hundreds with Peter Devine and Al
Craft
being shareholders.
The settlement of Dipper Harbour East began with the arrival in 1786 of
Hugh
Campbell, who had been born in Ayrshire, Scotland and emigrated to
America
where he served with His Majesty’s 42 Regiment. He came with the
Loyalists
in 1783 but was not happy with his allotted land and in 1786 petitioned
for
Lot 16. His wife was Martha Seymour of Boston who bore him three sons
and
seven daughters. Their son, Daniel Campbell married Margaret
Thomson,
daughter of James Thomson and he inherited the family homestead. A son,
Francis
born to them in 1853, married Emma Sherwood of Prince of Wales and
inherited
his father’s house.
Charles Devine, of County Tyrone, first ran a store at South Wharf,
Saint
John, which in the late 1870s he traded for the Anderson property with
a
large house in Dipper Harbour. Since he had received some training in
law
in Ireland, and had brought his law books with him, he was made
Justice
of the Peace. He became known as Squire Devine and held court in his
house
and passed out fines and punishment for those who found themselves on
the
wrong side of the law.
Another Loyalist was Daniel Belding, a mariner, who with his wife,
Mabel
Bristall and five children came to Chance Harbour, having first owned
on
home on St. James Street in Saint John. It appears he recognized the
potential
for development.
An Irish immigrant, Robert Thompson, was born in 1820 in the parish of
Letter-Kenny,
County Donegal, Ireland, and came to Saint John in 1846. On a
trip
to St. Andrews, he stopped at Chance Harbour for rest and food. He took
employment
with the Beldings and later married Mabel Belding. They had eight
children.
After Mabel’s death, he married Sarah Ann Wayne of South Musquash and
ten
children were born to them. Another Irish family was James Boyle
of
Carlingford.
The settlement of Maces Bay began with the granting in 1787 of 1,485
acres
to seven men: Joseph Russell, John Garrison, James Harris, Richard
Lawrence,
Samuel Pearce, Ebenezer Sanger and John Cain
The area prospered with the help of emigrants, Mawhinney, Ellis, Shaw,
Cassidy,
Corscadden, McGowan, Small, Wenn and others.
In 1978, Ethel Thompson, compiled, “The Tides of Discipline “- A
history
of three traditional fishing communities: Chance Harbour, Dipper
Harbour
and Maces Bay, in which she takes one on a journey through the years,
giving
information on the industries that provided the means of putting food
on
the table and of the families who lived there.
Fishing, as a livelihood, was pursued by settlers of the Fundy
coastline.
On August 13 and 14, 2004, Fundy Fishermen's Days will bring the
communities
of Chance Harbour, Dipper Harbour, Lepreau, Little Lepreau, Maces Bay,
Musquash,
Seeley's Cove and New River together as a whole to offer residents and
tourists
a chance to participate in a variety of events that will appeal to
young
and old alike. Many of the activities will be held at Dipper Harbour,
where
there will be a genealogical display. For more information visit
their
website at www.fundyfishermensday.com
***
Query 1195
Melrose - Payson: Robert and Ellen Katherine Melrose
were
children of Arthur Melrose, who died in 1931 and Edna Payson, who died
in
1942. I would like to contact their descendants as I have some
memorabilia
in my possession regarding their brother George Payson Melrose.
CHARLES R. HARRIS
2709 Wembley Drive
North Vancouver, BC
Canada, V7J 3B7
E-mail crharris@shaw.ca
