LT GOV OF NB GRANTS FELIX THOMAS
IN 1840 THE SOUTH 100 ACRES IN LOT 24
ADJOINING BELDING ON THE EAST
The south 100 acres of lot 24 at Chance
Harbour consisted of a parcel that stretched northward from the tide rock on Belding
Cove roughly ¾ of a mile along the east limit of the Belding land to a point,
and then east roughly parallet to the Lake Retreat Road further north to a
point some 600 feet or so connecting with a northerly line starting at the
shore of Chance Harbour about 150 feet or so east of where the new breakwater
ramp starts, and then following the shoreline west to the point of beginning on
Belding Cove at the tide rock – the granite outcropping covered with seaweed
that dries out at low water in the vicinity of Willy Belding’s house.
There is a lot of good, fairly well
protected shoreline along Belding Cove in this parcel although there is no
protection from south easterly blows which rip right into the small bay. In
2000, a winter gale combined with a high flood tide did just that and deposited
a lot of deals torn from the cap of the new wharf on this very beach.
This crown grant application proceeded
differently from that of the Beldings.
In the Thomas case, he had cleared
about half an acre of lot 24 and built a small house on it some fourteen years
before, i.e. 1825. He felt he had good enough title through some arrangement he
made with one Robert Foulis of St John who apparently had the right to receive
a grant of it. He likely felt no need to pay for the issuance of the actual
crown grant.
Many people make the mistake, even
today, of thinking their squatters rights will give them good title to any
piece of land after occupying it to the exclusion of all others for the time required
by statute or common law in the jurisdiction in which the squatting take place.
There are exceptions to this rule and
one is that you can never get good title to any land still in the name of the
Crown by squatting.
In 1840, George Mills of St John picked
up on the fact that the south 100 acres of lot 24 in Chance Harbour had not
been granted to anyone by the Crown. He petitioned the Lt-Gov for a crown grant
under the policy whereby the colonial government was granting land to those who
were prepared to pay 2 shilling 6 pence an acre ( ‘two and six an acre’). The
government program even permitted you to pay the total amount of the purchase
price over time with the actual grant to issue only after payment in full had
been made. For 100 acres this would amount to £ 12/10/0 – ‘twelve pounds 10’ in
the idiom of the day. Describing it as twelve and a half pounds just wasn’t
done.
Here is a typewritten copy of his
microfilmed petition.
To
His Excellency Major General Sir John Barbey, HCB and HCH, Lieutenant Governor
and Commander in Chief of the Province of New Brunswick etc, etc
The
petition of George Mills
of the Parish of St John in the County of St John
Humbly
Sheweth,
That
he is a British subject,
born in New Brunswick and does not own any land, that he wished to obtain by
purchase a tract of land for immediate settlement containing one hundred acres
and situate as follows: Lot No 24 Chance Harbour, St John.
The said land is at present in a
wilderness state, no improvements have been made thereon, Excepting about
quarter acre by one Felix Thomas with a small log house thereon. Your
petitioner begs to state that the said Thomas only entered upon the land by a supposed
title from Robert Foulis of St John. Your petitioner now finds that the said
land is on crown lands and he requests that he may be allowed to purchase it at
two shillings sixpence per acre, payable down and if so allowed, he is prepared
to, and will settle himself upon, and improve the same forthwith, and conform
in all respects with the regulations for granting of land.
And as in duty bound will ever pray,
“George Hills”
Sworn before me at Fredericton this 29th
day June 1840
“unreadable”
Once Mills had filed his petition with
the government, Felix Thomas would be given notice since Mills correctly
followed the law by setting out in his petition that Felix Thomas may be an
interested party. Mills has nothing to lose in making this application for 100
acres with some 300 feet of nice beach on Belding Cove and a year round
freshwater creek running through it to the harbour. He might get it if Thomas
did not object. If Thomas objected, there would be a hearing. He’d win or
Thomas would win. Either way, the government would grant him 100 acres pursuant
to the program somewhere on those terms and likely he had that spot with
frontage on the Bay of Fundy somewhere picked out as a fall back position. From
the point of view of Mills, it was a total WIN situation all the way.
On the other hand, Felix Thomas was
well over 65 and losing his retirement home would be stressful. Procedure did
not oblige him to make a formal petition to counter the Mills application – he
could file a counterclaim which would trigger an oral hearing by the property
committee of the Legislative Council. All Thomas needed to do was file some
written evidence that he had a prior claim.
Likely he and Daniel Belding discussed
the matter. In order to support Felix, it was decided that David Belding and
John Black, the owner of the land to the east of the 100 acres that Thomas
wanted, would file a statement based on the evidence they would give at the
hearing and here is the typewritten copy of the document on microfilm.
Mills, George 1840
We Certify that Felix Thomas has
improved to the extent of about half an acre with a house erected thereon on
lot No 24 Chance Harbour and we also certify that the said Thomas has made said
clearing by a supposed claim of one Robert Foulis of St John, the said lands
being the same as applied for by George Mills.
Chance Harbour
8 July 1840
Signed “David Belding”
“John Black”
Here is a photo of the microfilmed
document found at the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick (PANB) in
Fredericton,
And so the matter did go to a hearing
with the result that Felix Thomas was granted the south 100 acres in lot 24 in
Chance Harbour based on the oral testimony of his friends, neighbours and
cousins for his father had been the brother of Mabel Bristol, the wife of
Daniel Belding. By the same token, it seems that Daniel Belding’s mother was
also a Thomas such that Felix was a second or third cousin of Daniel Belding
himself.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Harry MacDonald
2 Jackstraw Lane
RR 2 Gananoque, On
K7G 2V4
Ph 613 382 8607
Fx 613 382 8673