Putting Down Roots by Chance

A 1756 map of the surveyed land in Nova Scotia. Pictou would have been further up the coast from Tatamagouche so was not even on the map 28 years before the 82nd Regiment was granted land there

Looking back on history, especially the history of a family line with deep roots in a particular area, it is hard to think it was not written in stone. In the case of John Brack McNeil, he not only had to survive the American Revolution, he had to take up the land that was offered. He was a soldier, not a farmer, as were the other men who were offered land grants. There were 200 grants available to the men, but only about 50 decided to settle on the land, the majority sold the grants on to the people who were already living in Pictou.

Who can blame them? These were not farms ready to be cultivated. These were lots carved out of a forest which had to be cleared before any planting could be done. It would have been hard graft with primitive tools. The men would have been fairly isolated, supplies hard to come by and, for those who wanted to put down root and start families, women were scarce.

About 1784, John Brack McNeil was granted lot number 9 in the Eighty Second Grant. This lot was adjacent to the water and bordered by other men who were probably his former brothers in arms. It sounds like a good location close as it was to the water which would give good access to fishing and probably to communication and transportation as well. He must have invested considerable sweat equity to make it a viable farm. Why then did he sell his land to William Frazier in 1798?

Sources:

Campey, Lucille H. After the Hector: The Scottish Pioneers of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton 1773-1852. Natural Heritage Books, Toronto, 2004. p 49

Family Search film 008189474 image 402 Deeds, vol. 2, 1771-1860. Canada, Nova Scotia, Pictou – Land and property

Ryan, Judith Hoegg. The Birthplace of New Scotland: An Illustrated History of Pictou County, Canada’s Cradle of Industry. Formac Publishing Company Limited, Halifax, 1995. p 12 – 14

Images:

A manuscript map of Nova Scotia (including parts of present-day New Brunswick) produced during the period of the Expulsion of the Acadians (the Great Upheaval) by Engineer John Brewse.

By John Brewse - https://collections.leventhalmap.org/search/commonwealth:hx11z499x, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=82142251