y be said that in spite of the attempt of the French governor
Villebon and his contemporaries to perpetuate the old Indian name of
Menaquesk, or Menagoeche, and of Governor Parr in later years to affix
the name of "Parr-town" to that part of our city to the east of the
harbor, the name given by de Monts and Champlain on the memorable 24
June, 1604, has persisted to the present day. The city of ST. JOHN,
therefore, has not only the honor of being the oldest incorporated
city in the British colonies, but traces the origin of its name to a
known and fixed date three hundred years ago. Indeed as regards its
name St. John is older than Boston, New York, Philadelphia or any city
of importance on the Atlantic coast as far south as Florida.

However the first English colonists who established themselves on a
permanent footing at "St. John's" thought little of this historic
fact. It was not sentiment but commercial enterprise than guided
them.

Among those who came to St. John with Simonds and White in April,
1764, none was destined to play a more active and useful part than
young Jonathan Leavitt. He was a native of New Hampshire and at the
time of his arrival was in his eighteenth year. Young as he was he had
some experience as a mariner, and from 1764 to 1774 was employed as
master of one or other of the Company's vessels. He sailed chiefly
between St. John and Newburyport, but occasionally made a voyage to
the West Indies. He received the modest compensation of L4 per month
for his services. In the course of time Mr. Leavitt came to be one of
the most trusted navigators of the Bay of Fundy and probably none knew
the harbor of St. John so well as he. In his testimony in a law suit,
about the year 1792, he states that in early times the places of
anchorage in the harbor were the flats on the west side between Fort
Frederick and Sand Point, which were generally used by strangers, and
Portland Point where the vessels of the Company lay. It was not until,
1783 that vessels began to anchor at the Upper Cove (now the Market
Slip), that place being until then deemed rather unsafe. Jonathan
Leavitt and has brother Daniel piloted to their landing places the
transport ships that carried some thousands of Loyalists to our shores
during the year 1783.

Jonathan Leavitt gives an interesting synopsis of the business carried
on at St. John under the direction of Simonds and White: "The
Company's business included Fishery, Fur trade, maki