1815 Immigrants in Pictou County

List of Immigrants to Pictou in 1815

The following list of immigrants to Pictou in 1815 should prove of intense interest and value to Pictonians. The list contains the names of 166 men and women and enumerates, but does not name 200 children. The list and the accompanying letter from the magistrates were discovered in the public archives of Nova Scotia by D.C. Harvey, archivist, who kindly made them available to us for publication.

Pictou, May 12^th, 1816

Sir:

In pursuance of the commands of His Excellency we have procured and now enclose a correct list of all the emigrants settled or residing within the district of Pictou excepting four or five families residing upon the upper part of the Middle River whose names and ages we have not been able to ascertain. We beg leave to state that we suppose every family therein mentioned (if not in absolute want) at least labouring under great difficulties from the extraordinary scarcity of provisions and the consequent poverty of their friends already settled in the country upon whose assistance many of them relied for support. The single persons with very few exceptions we do not consider requiring any assistance from Government whatever. In consequence of a former letter from you to the magistrate some temporary relief has been afforded to a few of most indigent of which accounts shall be afterwards transmitted.

The kind of relief which we suppose would be best, would be provisions – viz. flour, biscuits, or meal purchased in Halifax and sent here to be divided among them in proportion to the number of each family.

On Friday last seventy emigrants arrived here from Leith in the ship Aurora most of them are o a superior class to those of last year and it is probable that but few of them will remain in this district but we understand that a great number more are to be expected in the course of this summer.

We remain, Sir,

Your Mt Obdt Hble Servt;
Hugh Denoon
Constantine Adamson
Geo. Smith

H. Cogswell Esqr.
Depy Secretary of ye Province
Endorsed
12 May 1816
Hugh Denoon Esq. & al
Pictou Emigrants

Names	Age Years	Married, single, or widow	Number of children	Trade	Where residing or settled	General Remarks
Neil McLellan	25	Married	1	Labourer	Merigomish	Poor
His wife
William Murray	25	Single		Farmer	Merigomish
John Cameron	18	Single		Labourer	Lower Settlement, East River	At service
Marion McLean	70	Widow				Maintained by charity
Angus Cameron	31	Single		Labourer		At service
William Cameron	25	Single		Labourer		At service
Ann Cameron	60	Widow				Poor, maintained by her friends
Angus Cameron	30	Married	3	Labourer		Poor
His wife
William Sutherland	56	Married	3	Labourer	West Branch, East River	Very poor
His wife
Robert McKay	35	Married	3	Labourer	Lower Settlement	Very poor
His wife
Alexander Sutherland	40	Married	3	Labourer	Lower Settlement	Very poor
His wife
William McKenzie	22	Married		Taylor	Lower Settlement	Able to maintain himself
His wife
John McKenzie	25	Married	1	Labourer	Lower Settlement
His wife
John McKay	35	Married	6	Labourer	Lower Settlement	Very Poor
His wife
James McKay	21	Single		Taylor	Lower Settlement
Simon Fraser	24	Single		Blacksmith	Lower Settlement
John Mathewson	21	Single		Labourer	Lower Settlement
Peter McCallum	17	Single		Clerk	Lower Settlement
Alexander Munro	22	Single		Carpenter	Lower Settlement
John McKay	60	Married	8	Labourer	Fishers Grant	Very poor the Catechists or instructors of the parish from whence these McKays came
His wife
William Ross	30	Married	3	Labourer	Fishers Grant	Able to work but poor
His wife
John McKay	32	Married	6	Labourer	Fishers Grant	Able to work but poor
Hugh McKay	22	Single		Weaver	Fishers Grant
John McKay	20	Single		Labourer	Fishers Grant
James McKay	18	Single		Labourer	Fishers Grant
Kenneth McKay	45	Married	5	Shoemaker	Fishers Grant	A very poor man
His wife
Catherine McKay	52	Widow
Christian McKay	24	Single			Fishers Grant
Margaret McKay	20	Single			Fishers Grant
John McKay	40	Married	7	Labourer	Fishers Grant	A poor family
His wife
Catherine McKay	65	Single			Fishers Grant	Poor
Mrs. Kirby	40	Widow since married	3		Little Harbour
Donald Ross	22	Single		Labourer	Fishers Grant	Sick from a fall of a tree the only support of his family
James Ross	51	Married	9	Labourer	Fishers Grant
His wife
Robert McKenzie	60	Married	2	Labourer	Fishers Grant
His wife
John McKenzie	25	Married	1	Labourer	Little Harbour
His wife
Donald McKenzie	24	Single		Labourer	Little Harbour
William McKenzie	22	Married		Taylor
His wife
John McKay	30	Married	1	Labourer	Middle River	Very poor indeed
His wife
Christian Campbell	38	Single			Middle River	At service
Margaret McKay	30	Single			Middle River	At service
John Fraser	44	Married	5	Weaver	West River	Very poor
His wife
Francis Hendry	30	Married	2	Shoemaker	West River
His wife
Alexander McKay	40	Married	5	Labourer

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