tle later William Davidson was elected a member
and he and James Simonds were the sitting members when the old
Province of Nova Scotia was divided at the isthmus and the Province
of New Brunswick constituted in 1784.

Among the earliest magistrates of the County of Sunbury were John
Anderson, Beamsley Glasier, Francis Peabody, James Simonds, James
White, Israel Perley, Jacob Barker, Phinehas Nevers and Gervas Say.
The Courts of General Sessions of the Peace meet regularly at
Maugerville and transacted such business as was necessary, appointed
constables and other parish officers, administered justice and so
forth. Benjamin Atherton was clerk of the peace for the county,
James Simonds registrar of deeds and judge of probate, and James
White deputy sheriff. The first collector of customs was Capt.
Francis Peabody, who died in 1773. The attention given to the
collection of duties was but nominal and Charles Newland Godfrey
Jadis, a retired army officer who had settled at Grimross on the
St. John river, wrote to the secretary of state in 1773 calling
his attention to the prevalence of smuggling of which "Major-Ville"
was the centre, connived at, as he alleges, by the magistrate and
collector. This little incident is an indication that the sentiment
of the Massachusetts settlers of Maugerville was identical with that
of their kinsmen in New England in regard to the enactment of the
stamp act and the duties imposed by the British government.

A few particulars of interest regarding the settlers on the River St.
John are to be gleaned from the papers of David Burpee,[100] at one
time deputy sheriff of the county. There were very few framed
dwellings, nearly all the settlers living in log houses. As late as
1783 there were in Gagetown, Burton, and at St. Anns and vicinity
about 76 houses occupied by English inhabitants, of which only 9 were
framed buildings. The proportion of framed dwellings in Maugerville
was little better, the vast majority being log houses.

[100] See Hannay's article on the Maugerville Settlement, Collections
of N. B. Hist. Soc., Vol. 1, p. 63.

Horses were few and nearly all the ordinary farm work was done by
oxen. It is doubtful if any of the settlers owned a carriage, wagon or
sleigh at this time. Carts were generally used in summer and sleds in
winter. Some of the men owned saddles, of which there was much
borrowing, and there were a few pillions for the ladies. Traveling in
the summer t