River St. John. Mr.
Davidson came from the north of Scotland to Miramichi in 1764, the
same year that James Simonds and James White established themselves at
the mouth of the River St. John. Cooney, the historian of the North
Shore, tells us that at the time of Davidson's arrival the abandoned
houses of the French had been destroyed by the Indians, and our Scotch
immigrant found himself the only white man in a vast and desolate
region. If this be so he did not long remain solitary, for the next
year a grant of 100,000 acres on the south side of the Miramichi was
made to him and John Cort. Mr. Davidson was a resolute and energetic
man. He prosecuted the fishery, and about the year 1773 built the
first schooner launched upon the Miramichi. At the time of the
Revolutionary war the Micmacs were so hostile and troublesome that he
removed with his family to Maugerville, where he became the purchaser
of two lots of land near the head of Oromocto Island. His associations
with James Simonds, Wm. Hazen and James White were not of the
pleasantest kind. In consequence of purchasing some land at Morrisania
(below the present city of Fredericton) the title to which was in
dispute, he became involved in litigation with James Simonds, and the
result was a suit in the court of chancery,[117] which proved rather
costly to both parties. As regards Messrs. Hazen and White there was,
as we shall presently see, a lot of trouble arising out of the masting
business in which both parties were actively engaged.

[117] This was probably the first suit of the kind in the Province of
New Brunswick. Elias Hardy was Davidson's attorney and Ward
Chipman appeared on behalf of James Simonds.

Mr. Davidson's influence on the St. John river is shown by the fact
that he was elected a member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly for
the County of Sunbury. He returned to Miramichi about the time the
Loyalists came to the province, and died there in 1790. His tomb-stone
in the old cemetery on Beaubair's Island bears the following
inscription:--

SACRED TO THE MEMORY
OF
WILLIAM DAVIDSON, ESQ.

Representative of the County of Northumberland,
Province of New Brunswick, Judge of the Court
of Common Pleas, Contractor for Masts for His
Majesty's Navy.

He died on the 17th of June, 1790, aged 50. He
was one of the first settlers of the river,
and greatly instrumental in promoting the
settlement. He left a wid