The Homestead at Smiths Creek New Brunswick
On 12 Nov 1803, Thomas Coates purchased 500 acres in the Parish of Sussex, King County, New Brunswick from Samuel McCully for 225 pounds. (NB, Canada County Deed Registry Books 1780-1993 online at Ancestry and Family Search. Volume H, print page 297, Image 301 in the reel.). Thomas Coates moved to this property in New Brunswick in 1804. Samuel McCully took over Thomas Coates's farm at Nappan.
Samuel McCully had purchased the property 2 Jul 1802 from the widow and heirs of Richard Stockton. According to the deed, Stockton had received the property in a grant 9 May 1799. The lot was 1/2 of Stockton's original grant, beginning at the southwest corner and running diagonally northeast through the centre of the lot. (NB, Canada County Deed Registry Books 1780-1993 online at Ancestry. Volume H, print page 95, Image 99 in the reel.). According to Grace Aiton in The Story of Sussex and Vicinity, p. 23-24, Major Richard Witham Stockton and his family had come to Canada as British Loyalists during the American Revolution. Stockton had received a 1000-acre grant "four miles east of the confluence of the Mistake Creek with the Salmon River" at Smith Creek. He died in 1801, and his sons were unable to keep the property.
On 21 Nov 1805, Thomas Coates acquired another 450 acres from Richard Stockton's widow and children. This property was also part of the land that had formerly been granted to Richard Stockton May 9 1799. It was located on the northwest side of Mistake Creek, being bounded on the southwest by the 1/2 of the grant previously conveyed to Samuel McCully and by the land currently occupied by Richard Gorline on the northeast and by Mistake Creek on the south. (NB, Canada County Deed Registry Books 1780-1993. Volume I1, print page 105, image 110 in the reel.)
Thomas Coates only lived about 9 years after moving to Smith Creek. In his will, he left the property in Smith Creek to his sons. In The Story of Sussex and Vicinity, p. 55, Grace Aiton mentions Thomas's widow and sons. " The Widow Coates and 5 sons Thomas, George, Lemuel, Matthew, and William -- Natives of Yorkshire, had settled in Cumberland County in 1774 and came to the Smith Creek in 1804 to reside. Thomas took up land along Wind Gap Brook, where he erected grist and shingle mills. He had no family. George did not marry. The other three brothers married and had numerous children who became connected by marriage with many of the families along the creek."
Samuel McCully had purchased the property 2 Jul 1802 from the widow and heirs of Richard Stockton. According to the deed, Stockton had received the property in a grant 9 May 1799. The lot was 1/2 of Stockton's original grant, beginning at the southwest corner and running diagonally northeast through the centre of the lot. (NB, Canada County Deed Registry Books 1780-1993 online at Ancestry. Volume H, print page 95, Image 99 in the reel.). According to Grace Aiton in The Story of Sussex and Vicinity, p. 23-24, Major Richard Witham Stockton and his family had come to Canada as British Loyalists during the American Revolution. Stockton had received a 1000-acre grant "four miles east of the confluence of the Mistake Creek with the Salmon River" at Smith Creek. He died in 1801, and his sons were unable to keep the property.
On 21 Nov 1805, Thomas Coates acquired another 450 acres from Richard Stockton's widow and children. This property was also part of the land that had formerly been granted to Richard Stockton May 9 1799. It was located on the northwest side of Mistake Creek, being bounded on the southwest by the 1/2 of the grant previously conveyed to Samuel McCully and by the land currently occupied by Richard Gorline on the northeast and by Mistake Creek on the south. (NB, Canada County Deed Registry Books 1780-1993. Volume I1, print page 105, image 110 in the reel.)
Thomas Coates only lived about 9 years after moving to Smith Creek. In his will, he left the property in Smith Creek to his sons. In The Story of Sussex and Vicinity, p. 55, Grace Aiton mentions Thomas's widow and sons. " The Widow Coates and 5 sons Thomas, George, Lemuel, Matthew, and William -- Natives of Yorkshire, had settled in Cumberland County in 1774 and came to the Smith Creek in 1804 to reside. Thomas took up land along Wind Gap Brook, where he erected grist and shingle mills. He had no family. George did not marry. The other three brothers married and had numerous children who became connected by marriage with many of the families along the creek."
A visit to Smiths Creek
In September of 2017 I visited Smiths Creek, near Sussex New Brunswick, where Thomas Coates relocated in 1804. I took pictures of the graves behind the church at Smiths Creek and photos of picturesque farms and covered bridges in the general area.
In September of 2017 I visited Smiths Creek, near Sussex New Brunswick, where Thomas Coates relocated in 1804. I took pictures of the graves behind the church at Smiths Creek and photos of picturesque farms and covered bridges in the general area.