Prepared by E.L. Eaton in
January 1961
Personal Papers, shared, but not published
Personal Papers, shared, but not published
| Although not a grantee, a
person whose early name frequently is
mentioned in early transfers of property in Cornwallis is that of
Colonel Jonathan Shearman. In the History of Kings County, Eaton
mentions him acquiring land from James Mather in 1770 and erecting the
gambrel roofed house in Upper Canard then occuped by William H. Belcher
and now by William B. Eaton. His death took place July 4, 1810,
with burial at Upper Canard. The casual reader could infer that the Mather land was at Upper Canard, although this is not actually stated. The facts of the matter are recorded in Book 1, page 194 where the farm lot bought in 1770 is stated to be north of the Habitant River and touching on lands of Cooks, Wickwire and Woodruffe, several miles away from his later residence. It is not known if Colonel Shearman ever lived on the farm at Habitant. His will is further evidence that the property was retained during his lifetime, one of the bequests to his great grandson John Belcher being "my farm at Habitant called the Habitant Farm which I purchased of James Mather." The farm at Upper Canard, Lot Nine in the Twelfth Division, was originally draughted by Jabes Chappel and wife. In Book 1, page 133, 1772, all this grant of 666 acres was sold to John Whidden for £30. Among the parcels of land covered by this transaction was "The fourth lot is a 44-acre farm lot and is bounded by Joel Parish Farm Lot where he now resides and from the Nor West corner runs west 24 rods, then south 335 rods, then north 54 degrees east 29 rods to said Parishes lot the south west corner". Evidently Whidden was a good bargainer as a year later, Book 1, page 200, the farm lot of 44 acres only was sold to Jonathan Shearman for £30. Family records state that the construction of the dwelling house began in the fall of 1773 and was finished in 1774. In the latter year Shearman acquired the Benjamin LeComte draught, Lot seven, for £50. In 1788 he also bought the Tupper farm, Lot Six, together with the north half of the Stephen West property, Lot Five, both from John Anderson. By this time it seems to have become apparent that a mistake had been made in erecting this fine house only a few feet from the east line. Whatever the explanation, the matter seems to have been settled peaceably in 1779 when Captain John Huston, by then the owner of the Parish lot, made an even exchange of "two acres and twenty-eight rods" by which Colonel Shearman received a 6-rod strip on the east of his farm which he used as a garden, while Huston was compensated by a similar piece on his east line taken from the LeComte lot. The half lot Number Three in the Thirteen Division, draughted by Oliver Thorp, the south end of which is now the central part of the K. L. Ellis farm was bought about this time. He also became the owner in 1772, Book 1, page 351, for £18, of "One quarter of the Mills Montique or otherwise called Chase's Mills -- on the River Little Habutunque at the branches thereof" comprising a "corn mill" and "saw mill", together with land rights for flowage if it was desired to raise the dam. A son of Jonathan Shearman is said to have lost his life accidentally as a young man. A daughter Sarah married a Sweet, and her daughter Abigail married Stephen Belcher, father of John, and grandfather of Coloned William H. Belcher. All the descendants of Colonel Shearman appear to have been in the Belcher line. The will of Jonathan Shearman, a carefully drawn legal document is most interesting. The first item is an order to pay a debt of £300 to William Haliburton, evidently the father of Judge Haliburton of Sam Slick fame. An annuity of £5 per year was left to Elisabeth, wife of Amos Sheffield, and daughter of Benjamin Belcher, both on condition that they relinquish "in due form of law" their interests in lands of Stephen Belcher he had bought at auction. Generous provision was made for his wife Sarah and grandaughter Abigail, but they were to keep the buildings in "tenantable" condition, and were also responsible for "maintaining my negro woman Cloe comfortably during her life should she remain with them as heretofore". "My granddaughters Weighty Belcher and Sarah Belcher" are remembered. Apparently these were great-grandaughters, sisters of John Belcher. John Belcher was the residuary legatee. Some difficulty was found in tracing the generations within the family until it was found that Abigail Sweet married Stephen Belcher at the age of seventeen and became a widow with a growing family by the time many persons were making their first approach to matrimony. John Belcher, her son, was married at twenty-one.
|