ehemiah Beckwith belonged lived chiefly
at Lyme in Connecticut. Two brothers, Samuel and John, emigrated from
that place to Nova Scotia in 1760, in consequence of the inducements
offered by Governor Lawrence to New Englanders to occupy the lands
vacated by the Acadians. A fleet of 22 vessels from Connecticut,
carrying a considerable colony, entered Minas Basin on the 4th day of
June, and the settlers landed near the town plot of Cornwallis.
Nehemiah Beckwith was born at Lyme, February 29, 1756, and was the
seventh, and youngest, child of Samuel Beckwith by his wife Miriam,
who was a daughter of Capt. Reynold Marvin. At the time of his arrival
in "bluenose land" he was little more than four years old. The exact
date of his arrival at Maugerville is uncertain, but it was probably
not long before the 16th December, 1780, when--as we learn from old
Sunbury County records--he purchased half of lot No. 78 in Upper
Maugerville from Joseph Dunphy for L100. Nehemiah Beckwith is
described in the deed of conveyance as "late of Cornwallis but now of
Maugerville, Trader." Mr. Beckwith was quite an enterprising man in
the early days of New Brunswick. He was the first to attempt the
establishment of regular communication by water between St. John and
Fredericton, and for that purpose built in August, 1784, a scow or
tow-boat to ply between Parrtown and St. Anns. A little later he built
at Mauger's (or Gilbert's) Island a ship called the Lord Sheffield,
which he sold on the stocks in May, 1786, to Gen'l Benedict Arnold. In
consequence of sharp practice on the part of Arnold he was financially
ruined. However, in a few years he succeeded in extricating himself
from his difficulties and again became an enterprising and useful
citizen. At the first general election in this province Mr. Beckwith
and James Simonds were candidates for the County of Sunbury, their
opponents being Capt. Richard Vanderburg and William Hubbard. The
election was conducted after the old fashioned style of open voting,
and lasted several days, during which the poll was held in succession
at the principal centres. After a sharp party contest between the old
inhabitants and the loyalists, the former were outvoted and Simonds
and Beckwith consequently defeated. This election helped to intensify
the ill-will and jealousy already existing between the "old" and "new"
inhabitants. Mr. Beckwith married Miss Julia Le Brun and, after a
time, made his residence at Fredericton,