1783. The Ward family were a sturdy stock and were
noted for their longevity. The child born on the Barrack square
attained the age of 92 years, and a younger son, Charles Ward,
died in 1882 at the age of 91 years. The father, Lieut. John Ward,
was 92 years of age when he died on the 5th August, 1846. He was
known in his later years as "the father of the city." At the
semi-centennial of the Landing of the Loyalists he was honored with
a seat on the left of the mayor, John M. Wilmot, on whose, right
sat Sir Archibald Campbell the Lieut. Governor. On the 18th May,
1843, the sixtieth anniversary of the landing of the Loyalists,
the corporation of the city waited on Mr. Ward, then aged 90 years,
at his residence, and presented him with an address. The officers of
the Artillery also presented an address in which they say: "We claim
you with pride as one of the first officers of the corps to which we
now have the honor to belong; and we hail you at the same time as
one of the few survivors of that gallant band, who--surrendering all
save the undying honor of their sacrifice--followed the standard of
their Sovereign to these shores, and whose landing we this day
commemorate. That health and prosperity may be yours, and that the
evening of your days may be as free from a cloud as your past life has
been unspotted, is the sincere desire of the corps in whose behalf we
have the honor to subscribe ourselves."
The experience of the disbanded soldiers, who wintered with their
families at St. Anns, was even more trying than that of those who
remained at Parrtown. The month of October was cold and rainy, and
those who went up the river in boats had a very miserable time of it.
A few were fortunate enough to be admitted into the houses of the old
settlers, but the vast majority were obliged to provide themselves a
shelter from the approaching winter by building log and bark huts. At
St. Anns, where Fredericton was afterwards built, there were only two
English speaking settlers, Benjamin Atherton, who lived on the site of
Government House, and Philip Wade whose house stood on the river bank
in front of the present Cathedral.
Speaking of the hardships endured by the founders of Fredericton,
Peter Fisher observes: "Scarcely had they begun to construct their
cabins, when they were surprised by the rigors of an untried climate;
their habitations being enveloped in snow before they were
tenantable.... The privations and sufferings of so
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