Louis Head, Nova Scotia

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Louis Head in Nova Scotia

Louis Head is a small, peaceful community of the Municipality of the District of Shelburne in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia on the Lighthouse Route. Louis Head is a picturesque community on the Atlantic Ocean, with golden sand and abundant wildlife. It is one hour from Yarmouth and two hours from Halifax on the South Shore's Lighthouse Route. It offers a peaceful and secluded setting with a spectacular natural environment. The beach is over two miles long, making it a wonderful spot for families. It is ideal for anyone wanting peace and quiet in an oceanfront setting. The beach and protected cove also make it an ideal launching area for kayakers and canoeists. The area is perfect for swimming, beachcombing, kayaking, hiking, bicycling, and bird watching. Fine dining and tourist attractions can be found in nearby Lockeport, Shelburne, and Liverpool.

The following link takes you to an aerial view of Louis Head, which is included in frame 5:49 through 6:00. The village is at the center of frame 6:00 with Hughes Island in the foreground. Incidentally, please note that the video lists the footage as being that of Jones Harbor, which is across the mouth of the Sable River.

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Louis Head in Nova ScotiaLouis Head is an unincorporated hamlet that is part of the Municipality of the District of Shelburne in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is on the Lighthouse Route. It is approximately one hour from Yarmouth and two hours from Halifax. It sits facing the Atlantic Ocean but is protected by a bay and natural breakwater. It is noted for Louis Head Beach, over one mile long with a wide expanse of white sand. The community is near Lockeport, Shelburne, and Liverpool.

REDIRECT 1 Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Simeon Perkins 3 Louis Head Church 4 References

History Louis Head was originally home to the Mic Mac Indians. In the 1760s, two men purchased land on the west side of the Sable River, which included Louis Head. They were Ira Pride and John Colby. The community quickly grew as a community dependent on fishing, with a population of slightly more than 1,000 people for both Louis Head and Sable River in 1891. Today, an unofficial count has almost 50 people living in Louis Head, with the greater number being seasonal residents or living in second homes. There is no longer a government wharf used for fishing and most of the homes are no longer lived in by those dependent on the fishing industry.

The population figures above exclude those renting sites for their recreational vehicles at the Louis Head Beach Campground, which is only open for the summer months.

Of important historical note is the Louis Head community church, formerly the Louis Head Baptist Church, which has been restored and sits geographically in the center of the community. There is also the Louis Head Cemetary and a cemetary for members of the Pride family. It has also been restored after languishing for many years.

The following is a written account that Mr. Burtt, a resident and local historian, gave in a speech. Mr. Burtt initially spent his young summers in Louis Head visiting relatives and has spent considerable time researching the community's history.

The following is his story of the history of Louis Head:

The purpose of my visit here is to tell you some of the history of the area, and Ira Pride, one of the first Americans that came to this area. You will also notice I brought my notes. That is because when you reach 70, the belts that run your memory start to slip a little, so I need all the help I can get. Ira Pride's Great, Great, Great, Grandfather John Pride, a shipwright, came from England in 1648. He settled in Salem, a little north of Boston, and died soon after. The following generations of Prides lived in that same area, near the harbor of Salem and Beverly, Massachusetts, and were also shipwrights, shipbuilders and seamen. The Prides were never far from the sea.

The farm of his grandfather, William Pride, was near a shallow stream there in Beverly, where the path taken by travelers going north, crossed. There was no bridge, because wading a stream was a convenience, allowing the teams to stop and drink before continuing on. This area then became known as "Pride's Crossing".

Other members of the Pride family lived on the highest ground in the area nearby, and that became known as "Pride's Hill". Both of these locations can be seen today on a detailed map of the area, and the houses built there would rival some of the finest mansions in Europe.

One of the other families in Beverly, Massachusetts, at that time were the Hewitt's, and they were close friends of the Prides. When his grandfather, William Pride, moved the family to Norwich, Connecticut, in 1723, the Hewitt's moved to Wells, Maine, where they had relatives who were also shipbuilders. In Norwich, Ira Pride's father, who was also named William, married Margaret Fales on May 20, 1736. Her ancestry, like the Pride's, descended from British Royalty. Ira was born there, in Norwich, on December 3, 1741, and that is where he lived until age 21.

The Perkins family, in Norwich, were the Pride's friends and neighbors. They were merchants, and very prominent in business circles. Their son, Simeon Perkins, and Ira Pride, became lifelong friends. Simeon Perkins was very smart, very academic and studious.

Nova Scotia had been, at times, under French rule, and known as Acadia. Other times it was under English rule, and known as New Scotland, or Nova Scotia. England and France were constantly bickering over control of the Maritimes, and therefore sometimes all, and at other times, only parts, were either under the rule of England, or France. Eventually France had other interests to tend to, and pulled out, giving England full control. For many years thereafter, England tried to get the French citizens to pledge allegiance to the Crown, but they refused, believing France would soon be back in charge again. Therefore, in 1755, and again in 1758, England when had troops available in the area, they rounded up all the French settlers they could fmd, or catch, and shipped them elsewhere. Most were shipped back to France, but some were shipped down into the Bayou Country in Louisiana, where the name, "Acadian" was corrupted to "Cajun".

A great many French settlers escaped the troops and moved westward into the wilds of Canada, settling in Quebec. By 1760, Nova Scotia was offering land grants, and assistance, to new settlers who would come in to occupy the lands vacated by the French. Back then, this was not moving to a different country, but relocating in a different part of the same country. Therefore, the Pride family became interested in relocating to Nova Scotia, as did many others at that time, and in 1762, they moved to Horton, Kings County, Nova Scotia, and settled along the Bay Shore of Minas Basin.

When traveling up the coast, they stopped in Wells, Maine, and visited the Hewitt family, and they were also planning on moving to Nova Scotia as well. While visiting there, Ira could not ignore the fact they had a daughter, Mary, (she was called Polly), who was a year younger than he. The Minas Basin area was not to the family's liking, so they later moved on to Halifax, which was much more suitable to the Pride family's shipbuilding interests.

Being young, Ira preferred to step out on his own, so he left and headed westerly, down to Nova Scotia's south shore. His father was so furious at him for leaving the family business, that he disowned him. He said Ira was heading out into the wilderness of the south shore, among the savages where, "There was an Indian lurking behind every tree". One reason for Ira's interest down on the south shore, was because the Hewitt's had also settled there. He and Mary were married soon after, in 1764.

The Indians, we refer too as MicMacs, did not oppose the new settlers, instead they just ignored them. However, when Ira found a favorable piece of land that was almost an island, with a good harbor, I wanted to avoid any feeling of hostility, so he approached the MicMac's governing council to purchase it. They could not understand such a strange thing as someone owning a piece of land. However, if he wanted to pay them something to use it, that was fine with them, and this he did.

Shortly after this, two things occurred. First, Ira found the area west of the Sable River very much more to his liking. It had a much larger area to supply timber for his shipbuilding, and a good harbor with a sand beach where a vessel could be comfortably beached at high tide to work on her. Secondly, a fellow came along who said the island, with its good harbor, was just what he wanted, and offered Ira a very good price, which he accepted.

They drew up a Bill of Sale, and so, Mr. Jonathan Locke became the owner of the island, which became known as Locke's Port, or Lockeport. That Bill of Sale remained in the possession of Ira Pride's daughter, Mary, who married John MacMillan, and it was passed down through the MacMillan's side of the family, where it remained until recently, and until one of the younger descendents was cleaning house, and cleaned it a little too thoroughly.

When Ira first arrived beside the Sable River, during the later 1760's, he had built a house overlooking the Bay. It was quite modest, but adequate for Mary and the five children they eventually had. This house was, in time, owned by Ebon Ringer, and later by his son, Bob Ringer, and it still stands today, out on the Breakwater Road in Louis Head.

A few other settlers were starting to arrive in the area on the west side of Sable River, but there was always the uncertainty of ownership until the Province made the final land grants. Once again, to avoid hostility with the Indians, and also to possibly influence the eventual land grants, another settler, Mr. John Coulby and Ira Pride approached the MicMac's council to purchase the area. This area extended from the Sable River westward a mile and a half, almost to Little Harbour, and upriver a mile or more to what is now West Middle Sable. Once again they drew up a Bill of Sale. This one is on record and can be seen today. It reads, in general; "I, Thomas Muse, governor of a tribe of Indians, for the sum of twenty dollars, quitclaim to Ira Pride and John Colby a tract of land: Beginning at the west side of the mouth of the Sable River, thence running upon the Sea Shore westward one and one half mile, thence north one mile, thence east to aforesaid Sable River, thence running upon the west side of the Sable River as the river runs to the first mentioned bounds." The date was November 1, 1779.

This was when the radicals down in the lower 13 colonies were trying to throw off the yoke of English administration, and were in the midst of revolution, which was actually more of a civil war. For that reason, some new settlers arrived, leaving those colonies to avoid the conflict. It was not until 1783 when the many thousands of Loyalists landed in Roseway, which Governor Parr immediately renamed Shelburne, that things became rather hectic. The Port Roseway Associates had previously made arrangements with the province to settle in Port Roseway, but they did not expect to have the thousands of other Loyalists to be landed along with them. The Loyalists had been promised land, which was still in the process of being surveyed, and the grants were being handed out very slowly. They were also promised tools and supplies for two years after they arrived. This gratuity was known as "the King's Bounty".

When a great many of these new arrivals saw nothing but the great expanses of forests, the rocky land, and the amount of work required to feed and house a family, their old situation back home didn't look so bad after all, therefore, soon after arriving, they turned around and left. England had also promised freedom to any slave that would wear the British uniform, and take up arms against the rebels. Many did, and they, too, were arriving in Shelburne, with most settling in Birchtown. These freed slaves, believing that freedom meant that they didn't have to work anymore, and not realizing everyone has to work to eat, soon were looking to the other settlers for assistance. In time, this led to riots by the blacks in the streets of Shelburne.

The treatment of the southern slaves was not as bad as the tall tales told to induce resentment against slavery. To be sure, even today some men beat their wives and kick the dog. The slaves had to work, as we all do, but they were fed, clothed and housed, and although at times rather squalid, it was much better than what they had left in Africa. The people here in the north also had slaves, as did the Pride family.

However, they were not seen as slaves, but valued members of the family, and many even took the family name. With the confusion of the freed slaves arriving along with Loyalists who themselves had slaves, the northern slaves preferred to be called Black Servants. About the worst thing that could happen to a Black Servant was to be discharged, or have their owner die. The last Black Servant in Louis Head was an elderly lady. When her owner died, she could only move into a small cabin to live out her days. She was not forgotten however. There was always a pile of wood by her door, meat and groceries in her larder. On the other hand, whenever anyone was ill, or in need, she was always right there to help. She was a treasured member of the community.

One of the freed slaves that arrived with the Loyalists was Colonel Stephen Bluck, a well educated and intelligent leader. He made great progress in smoothing over the difficulties between the freed slaves and the other settlers in Shelburne, and instructing the freed slaves on the requirements of freedom. Most unfortunately, one night after a late meeting with the authorities in Shelburne, Colonel Bluck left to walk home. He never arrived. Simeon Perkins noted in his ledger that the following morning his remains were found on the road, where he had been killed and eaten by wolves.

In 1791, Britain started shipping the freed blacks, who were dissatisfied with conditions here, to Sierra Leone. To this end, John Clarkson proceeded to offer them passage. The following notes of his unscheduled visit to Port L'Hebert are taken directly from his daily ledger. He wrote; "October 22, 1791, Halifax, Nova Scotia. I went accompanied by Mr. Taylor on board the Dolphin, a small schooner of about 30 Tons bound for Shelburne, which immediately fell down the river, passed by Sambro's Light House at 6:00 A.M. and proceeded with a fair wind at the rate of 7 Knots per hour. Toward evening, apprehending there might be some danger in passing the Ragged Island, we put into Port L'Hebert and anchored about 3 miles up the river."

He referred to this part of the country as being an uncommonly wild, endless woodland, with a few wretched inhabitants on the eastern side of the river that had a few acres of half cleared land overrun with large nakedrocks of granite. He wrote; "In the summer they plant potatoes and sow a little corn, and the wealthiest of them perhaps possess a few sheep or a cow. During the winter season they travel on snowshoes hunting wild fowl, Moose, Deer, and Caribou."

He and Mr. Taylor went ashore, and on entering one of the huts they received the most agreeable reception from a young girl about 15 years of age entrusted with the care of the house and two small children, her brothers. For the past several days her parents had been gathering in their winter stock of potatoes on the "contrary" side of the river. [This girl was Jenny Lavender, and her parents were over on Harding's Island digging potatoes]. He wrote that, "Her behavior and polite attention would have done credit to a person of the first rank and education, and might have reflected disgrace upon the inferior rank of people in Great Britain. Her manner so simple, mild and unaffected, her general deportment so modest and respectful, left me at a loss for language to express the esteem I felt for this amiable little girl."

She furnished them a meal from the stock of provisions that consisted only of potatoes and buttermilk, with a few dried salt fish. He reports that they, "Made a hearty supper of this fare." When they attempted to return to the schooner, they found the creeks were now filled up by the tide and rendered totally impassable. By then it was raining hard, and being very dark, they returned to the house, which they had some difficulty in finding.

He wrote, "On our knocking at the door, our little hostess received us with her own peculiar grace and sweetness, making apologies for the inconvenience of her little hut." She had them sleep in the bed which contained a small infant, while she kept the fire going all night to keep them comfortable because, as he wrote, "The wind and the rain beat in at several parts of the house. "

The next day, with much difficulty along the rugged paths, they visited all the inhabitants on the eastern side of the river. Upon their return they met her parents who had just come home for a few hours from the opposite side of the water. This was Jenny Lavender's step father, John Richardson, and his wife, Susan. She was the widow of Robert Lavender who had served in the English army and died later in Shelburne. John Richardson possessed 100 acres of land which he had purchased for one guinea.

When they were able to set sail on October 24, 1791, at 11:00 A.M, John Clarkson wrote, "Finding we had it in our power to quit the harbour, we took leave of our charming little friend, Jenny Lavender, regretting the little probability there was of seeing her at any future time, and paused to think that so valuable a maid should be entombed in this wilderness and forever secluded from the social comforts of mankind in a state of society." "We got underweigh which enabled us to lay along the shore, and as our Captain was thoroughly acquainted with every rock and creek upon the coast, we gained considerably by keeping close along the beach, frequently passing the most frightful breakers at a very short distance on each side of us. On passing Sable River we were much struck by the appearance of its entrance. "

Not all freed slaves wanted to leave however, those who had overcome the obstacles and hardships, cleared their land, built their homes and welcomed the opportunities of this new land, became valued members of the community.

Fortunately, in 1785, the government saw fit to grant the so called "Old Settlers", such as John Hewitt, Duncan MacMillan, John Coulby, Ira Pride, and many others, this piece of land that John Coulby and Ira Pride had already purchased from the Indians. With this grant, they were now certain this area was theirs, and would not have to eventually move elsewhere.

Ira Pride's section of this grant was at the mouth of the bay, which included the prominent head that juts out into the harbor. From there it went westerly, along the seashore toward Little Harbour. At one time, there had been an elderly gentleman, a MicMac, living on this head, and when he died, he was buried there. His given name was Louis, therefore, this head of land, jutting out into the bay, became known as Louis Head. Then, with the activity of Ira Pride's store and the dock, as well as the new settlers moving in, the entire hamlet nearby also took on the name of Louis Head.

Ira Pride built a proper house far out on this head, where a dock could serve the vessels, and also a small store to serve the new settlers. In about the mid 1790's or 1800, Mr. Harold Giffin drew a picture of this house and outbuildings, with a beached vessel being repaired. Most fortunately, this drawing came to light in recent years and copies can be seen today.

Ira built his shipyard up on John's Island, where the Sable River enters the bay. It was a good location, and the water was plenty deep for the size vessels that were built in those days. There were two ship ways on the east side, so they could be working on two vessels at the same time.

The ship's knees, mast hoops and logs were purchased from the settlers and the MicMacs upriver. They would cut the logs and raft them down river, grounding them out on the upriver side of the island at high tide. After the tide dropped, they would then go out with the oxen and haul them up into the hewing yard where the curved ribs and special planking were hewed, or to the pitsaws. The pitsaws, cursed by the sawyers and praised by the shipwrights.

The logs that had to be sawed endways into planking were rolled up onto two beams over a deep pit. The saw itself was only a heavy ripsaw blade with handles on both ends. Two men were on top, and pulled the saw up, the man in the pit below pulled the saw down. In this way they sawed the deck planking, boards and some of the beams. The top men had to keep the saw on line, and hauling the saw back up was a heavy and long pull. The man in the pit below suffered the most. There was little air blowing through so it was hot, and with the sawdust coming down over him he could become most uncomfortable. Worse still, he could not be in the most comfortable form of attire desired for his job, if any ladies were expected to be visiting. If you wanted him for a lifelong friend, you only needed to throw a pail of water down on him occasionally.

There were the many other shipyards further up the river, such as the Ryan's shipyard in West Middle Sable and Howard Allen's shipyard up near the town of Sable River. These shipyards on the Sable River were limited in the size of vessels they could build because of the river depths. The smaller vessels could be floated downriver with the outgoing tide, but for the ever larger vessels in later years, after steam tugs came into use, a steam tug would come from Lockeport, and at 8:00 o'clock, the morning after the night of a full moon, the tides would be such that the tug could proceed upriver, and haul a newly launched larger vessel down to Ira Pride's dock at Louis Head, to be outfitted from his store nearby, or, hauled on into Lockeport to be outfitted there.

Howard Allen was about the first to abandon his yard and move elsewhere. This came about when he had two vessels on the ways and nearly finished. His workers asked for higher wages than he wanted to give them, so eventually, they stopped work until their demands were met. To get the vessels finished, he fmally agreed to their demands, and, happy with their negotiating success, they finished the vessels. The vessels were launched, hauled downriver, and Howard Allen abandoned the yard, leaving the workers jobless. He continued his shipbuilding in Allendale where he had much deeper water and could build much larger vessels.

Ira Pride's oldest son, Ira Junior, became a shipbuilder in the Ragged Islands, a few miles to the west. His second son, William, worked at the shipyard on John's Island, at the head of Sable River Bay. He eventually took it over, and was quite successful there, operating the shipyard until his death in 1844. However, with the need to build ever larger vessels, the yard went into decline, and eventually ceased operations during the 1880's. The shipwrights, with their knowledge of construction, went into church construction, the beautiful old louis Head Church, completed in 1892 being a fine example.

Ira Pride's Granddaughter, Mary Elizabeth Pride, married Robert Currie, Esquire, on March 21, 1822, and he built their house on the hill, on the neck of land that stretches out to Louis Head Point He was a merchant, and in later years, he and Mary moved into Ira and Mary Pride's house out on the Point, taking over the operation of the store nearby. They never had any children of their own, but three children were raised by them.

One was Elizabeth Fitzgerald. She was but a small child when she, and her sister Louise, were the only survivors of a nearby shipwreck. A second child was Mary Pride, and the third was a young boy, Benjamin Abbott, apprenticed to the Curries to learn the merchandising trade. The Louis Head Point had been used by the Indians as a burial ground, and Robert Currie wrote in his journal of one such burial. He wrote of the Indians coming down the river in two canoes to bury the deceased. Unfortunately, the spot where the Indians planned to bury the wrapped body was near the Esquire's bedroom window. Needless to say there was much talk between Esquire Currie and the Chief. Mrs. Mary Currie being a real wife and a woman who could handle and manage affairs, produced a cake and made a pot of tea to cheer. She served all who sat down together. The braves then did the chore they had come to do, where Esquire Currie and the Chief had agreed, and went back up the river with the flood tide's help.

In that time period, this point of land, called Louis Head, was very much larger, over twice the size it is today, and there was a large island, several acres in size, out in the bay just off Louis Head Point. This was Hughes Island. There were several buildings on this island, and there was even a fresh water well there to serve them. Over the years the sea continued to encroach, and with the winter storms, much of the island washed away. Eventually the buildings were abandoned. Finally, the last building there served as Mr. Thompson's fish house, where his fishing gear was stored. He would come down river in his boat from West Middle Sable, to the island, and from there, head out to sea for his days fishing.

Hay was still being cut on the island only 80 or 90 years ago, and as recently as 1950 there was still a large area of grassland. In the spring of the year, it was hard to place a foot without stepping on eggs of the Herring Gulls. Sadly, today, Hughes Island it is only a shoal, awash at high tide.

Not only has the Louis Head Point, which became known as "The Fishing Point", suffered over the years, but the location of the original road that served the area is now far out on the sand flats. The Breakwater Road, that came out to the head, also suffered. They piled rocks along the side to protect it, but to no avail. This row of rocks can still be seen today, far out on the flats. In recent years, more and larger rocks were piled beside the present road, far up on the shore, and even these are now being breached during the high tides.

Ira Pride's store eventually reverted to being just another fish house, owned by Alden Giffm, among the other eight fish houses near by. All fishing activity ceased here during the 1970's, and all the nine fish houses remaining were abandoned, as well as the two boat slips, two breakwaters, and all the abutments. The fish houses were later used by campers for firewood, and in 1988, the government removed all that was left, including the winch installed in 1955 to haul the boats up onto the slip.

John's Island remained an island until recently, about the 1960's, when the channel that made it an island, filled in with sand, so today it is but a point of land. Louis Head once had nearly 30 houses, about three times that there are today.

Simeon Perkins Just prior to 1760, and two years before the Pride family left Norwich, Connecticut, Simeon Perkins had came to Nova Scotia's south shore, and he was one of 140 .settlers that incorporated the town of Liverpool. He did not come to avoid the hostilities in the lower colonies, but . as an agent to represent the family's shipping interests in this developing area. It was a smart decision of the family, and Simeon was an excellent representative. In time, as the area developed, he became a merchant, owned a sawmill, much land, and had shares in many ships. He also held, at various times nearly every office available in Liverpool. However, his greatest legacy to those that followed, were the ledgers he kept from 1766 until his death in 1812. In these ledgers he recorded many births, deaths, ship arrivals and departures, as well as many incidents of interest. Any history of Nova Scotia is not complete without references to Simeon Perkins’ Diaries. He frequently spoke of the Whittemore family in his ledgers. Some had been sea captains, while others were shipwrights. The Whittemore family had its share of misfortunes, however. On February 14, 1800, Mr. Josiah Whittemore was helping to haul hay across the harbor there in Liverpool. He was in the bow of the boat breaking the ice ahead. His staff slipped, he fell in, and was lost under the ice before they could help him. His body was found floating under a dock the following spring. Their older son, Josiah III, was forced to serve on a British man-o-war, and died in a foreign port. Their other son, Thomas, contacted smallpox and died the following year in 1801. Mrs. Experience Whittemore wanted her son buried beside his father, but because of the number of smallpox deaths, he was buried in only a common grave. Simeon noted in his ledger that early the following Monday morning, Mrs. Whittemore went to the graveyard, dug up her son, and buried him beside his father where she wanted him to be. When Mrs. Whittemore died, the doctors of today would say she died of a massive stroke, but back in those days, Simeon reported in his ledger just what happened. “Poor old Mrs. Whittemore. Half of her died last week, and the other half died this morning.” Most fortunately, the Whittemore’s older daughter, Experience “Pella” Whittemore, survived and married Ira’s son, William Pride, on May 1, 1794. Their oldest daughter, Experience “Penna” Pride, married Ben Abbott, They received the tract of Ira’s land that lays across the shore, and built their house on the hill overlooking Raspberry Head. Their house burned down in 1894, but the fields they cleared, the stonewalls they built, as well as their cellar and well, can still be seen today. Their son, Edward Abbott, married Maria Giffin. She was very determined and a hard working lady. They had two daughters, Lena Pride Abbott, and Laura Cox Abbott. Lena married John Wilson Cole as his second wife. His first wife, Jane MacMillan, died young, leaving two small children. Lena, like her mother, was a hard worker, and put up many preserves for winter use. When a jar of preserves spoiled, it was said it had “worked.” John Cole, when speaking of his hard working and tireless wife, said that when Lena was around, everyone worked, even the preserves “worked” in the cellar. The Cole’s also had misfortune in their family. John Cole’s father was Captain John Frederick Cole. He married first, Hannah Perry, and they had several sons. They lived in Osborne Harbour, in the field in back of where the Lobster Company is toda)', overlooking the harbor. She died at age 31. He then married Susan Ann MacMillan from Louis Head, and they had two children, Almira Cole and John Wilson Cole. Captain John Frederick Cole was captain of the schooner Winslow Locke, and his sons sailed with him as crew. Then, in August, 1856, when John Wilson Cole was three years old, he was in the kitchen with his mother, and she was standing in the kitchen door, watching as the Winslow Locke was entering the harbor after a trip to the West Indies. She also saw a vicious line squall fast approaching, and it caught her husband's vessel in a bad way. They could not reach the safety of the inner harbor, or have time to return to the open sea. She could only watch helplessly as the squall swamped the vessel, drowning her husband and stepsons. No bodies were ever recovered. John Wilson Cole never went to sea, becoming a carpenter instead, and Susan returned to Louis Head. On October 17, 1864, Susan A. Cole, married William W. Spence, from Lockport. All further record of her has been lost to the family, except for one bit of information. On February 6, 1997, her great, great, grandson, Dana E. Burtt, over in New Hampshire, while repairing an old eight day clock of unknown origin, found the name, Mrs. Susan Ann Spence, Liverpool, Nova Scotia, written in the back of the clock. John and Lena Cole had two children. One of them, Elizabeth Pride Cole, they called her Bessie. She went over to the U.S. to help her sister tend her ailing husband. While there, she married a local farm boy, William Burtt. It was a whirlwind courtship, as William said later, he met Bessie in January, courted her in February, proposed to her in March, and married her in April. Privateers. Privateers were a constant threat to shipping, and many countries authorized them. By getting a "Letter of Marque" from the authorities, and following the established rules, any ship owner could become a "Privateer" and prey on enemy shipping. A "pirate" however, was a ship owner who had officers. The vessel was taken into port, the goods sold, and the booty divided among the capturing crew. When Privateers brought in a "Prize," and it was found to be a ship of friendly registry that had been previously captured by an enemy Privateer, and now re-captured, it created many long legal battles in the Courts of Admiralty. Simeon Perkins had shares in several privateers, and spoke of being embroiled in many such cases himself. Because Liverpool depended on their ships and shipping, the Privateers were a constant concern. Ira Pride, too, was taken by pirates on two occasions. On the first occasion, he was given the choice of remaining as crew, or "walking the plank." He had no desire to lead the life of a pirate, so he chose to "walk the plank." Walking the plank was not done in your storybook fashion, with hands tied behind the back, blindfolded, with broadswords pressing at the back, forcing each step further out on the plank, only to join the sharks below, with their gnashing teeth, anxious to start their feeding frenzy. No indeed, walking the plank was not that way at all. With a favorable breeze, the pirate vessel drew in as close as reasonable to an isolated beach so the seaman could jump in and swim ashore. The most disagreeable part of walking the plank was the long walk home from the isolated beach where he was put ashore. The second time Ira Pride was taken, was much later, and by a privateer. Again he preferred not to join the crew, therefore they gave him the ship's longboat so he could return home. Simeon Perkins made the following entry about this in his ledger. "Thursday, July 17, 1777. Warm day. Captain Ira Pride who was taken by (Captain) Leach last Sunday, at Port Roseway, came to town in his boat He was in a sloop loaded with staves at Jordan River, and had some goods. The privateers gave him a brig's longboat he had with him, and dismissed all his hands." Please realize, that in those days of sail, before steam tugs were available to tow a vessel in or out of a harbor against an unfavorable wind, a vessel had to "heave too" and wait for a favorable wind. Otherwise, they had to launch the longboats, put the crew to the oars, and haul it in, or out, manually. On November 11, 1781, the Reverend Henry Alline left Barrington on a schooner heading for Liverpool. The next day the schooner was captured by an American privateer. Because he was a Man of the Cloth, he was given the consideration of being returned to Barrington. He then traveled to Liverpool by land, arriving in Sable River on November 22, 1782, where he preached a sermon. He later preached in Sable River two more times, and in his notes he wrote, "The people at Sable River gave attention, but in general it was a very dark people, and the people of the communities along the shore were lost in midnight darkness, some not having heard a sermon in fourteen years." Jonathan Locke was a successful merchant, and operated many vessels. He also had many friends and knew the ways of the sea. He lost very little to the Privateers. Benjamin Arnold, on the other hand, was a very determined individual. He operated, or had shares in, many vessels, and the Privateers plundered his vessels mercilessly. Finally, in desperation, he decided to become a privateer himself, and capture some of it back. Fortunately, he was an excellent seaman and was quite successful. Benjamin Arnold, had a large family, his children had large families, and they all lived on the road that goes from Little Harbour, west, to Gid Hemeon's Point. There were so many Arnold's in that area, it became known simply as "Arnolds", and even today, the highway sign directs you to that area called Arnold's, although there are no Arnolds there anymore. Little Harbour itself once had so many families with the name of "Swansburg" that for years it was called Swansburg, and was listed as such on some maps. Captain Thomas Clement Drapier was one of the most dreaded American Privateersmen to prey on the Nova Scotia shipping during the Revolutionary War. The following is the record, as it was written, about the end of Captain Drapier's privateering days. Throughout 1779 Captain Drapier, aboard the schooner "Sweat" continued to be a source of worry to Nova Scotia shipping. A Council ofWar was held at the Government House in Halifax to plan ways to stop these plunderings, but Drapier always managed to thwart their schemes. In October, 1779, Captain Nathaniel Freeman made another effort to outwit Captain Drapier. He launched a tiny thirty-five foot schooner, named "Brisk", that had been patterned after the lines of the "Sweat". She carried no guns except one small cannon that threw a two pound round shot. The Blue Peter that flew from her main gaff was no larger than a pocket handkerchief, and the lettering on her stern was only two inches in length. She carried aboard four particularly small boys dressed like the crew, who were to be placed so they could be seen by any pursuer, while the regular crew was kept out of sight. This tiny craft, with Ira Pride as master, sailed up and down the coast hoping to draw Drapier into a trap. On December 7, 1779, he spotted Drapier cruising offSt. Margaret's Bay. Setting off a dummy smoke to port, Ira Pride waited a moment then fired a blank shot from his two-pounder to starboard. He repeated this several times, knowing that someone aboard the "Sweat" would count the time from the puff of smoke to the report and estimate the distance. When Drapier saw the schooner in the distance he gave immediate chase. He could not read her name on the stem with his telescope, and the crew looked so small, that he got the impression that the schooner was as large as the "Sweat", and he soon learned she could sail almost as fast. His quarry was heading in a dash for Heckman's Island. He had gained on her enough to read her name on the stem, and soon the "Sweat" was in waters uncharted for her, but the opinion of Drapier and his officers was that where the "Brisk" could go, they could go, so they sailed on. Drapier was warned that something was wrong as the water shoaled at six fathoms and gimlet ledges were close by. Drapier gave orders at once and the "Sweat" rapidly lost headway, but it was too late. There was a crunch and the ship was hard and fast on a ledge that only a few minutes before the "Brisk" had skimmed over safely. Five hours later, with the falling tide, the ship careened and lay helpless on her bilge. The terror of the Nova Scotia waters had been caught in Nat Freeman's trap. Under the date of December 12, 1779, Simeon Perkins wrote in his diary: "Privateer Sweat was a few days ago run on a ledge in the mouth of Malagash (Lunenburg) harbor and bilged, and the crew is secured by the militia of Malagash". After the war, Captain Thomas C. Drapier, his wife Deborah, and their daughter, Hetty, lived in Liverpool where the Captain died in 1788. As a young girl, his daughter, Hetty Drapier, worked in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Simeon Perkins.

Louis Head Church Ira Pride shed his mortal husk on January 11, 1828, in Louis Head when he was at the age of 87. He had taken a cargo of fish to Halifax, and found an outbreak of small pox there.

In the newspaper's account of his death, he was criticized for not being vaccinated. He believed he should not get vaccinated, when, on so many occasions, that early method of vaccination gave the pox instead of preventing it. A chew of tobacco in his mouth, and the bag of camphor hung around his neck, had seen him safely through these situations in the past, why should he get vaccinated?

You must realize that in those days, just as it is today, the writer is but an individual with their own opinions, prejudices and faulty judgment, and once they print something in the newspaper, it is mistaken for the gospel truth.

The following is the account of his demise as placed in the newspapers:

"DIED, January 11, 1828, At Sable River, in the township of Shelburne. Mr. Ira Pride, a very worthy and respectable inhabitant of that part of the province, and an honest and industrious man. The death of Mr. Pride may in all probability, be considered amongst that of many, as the effect of prejudice against a remedy which no man should treat with indifference at a moment like the present. He had brought his cargo of fish to Halifax, toward the close of the year and having occasion to do business about the town, he was repeatedly cautioned of the impropriety of risking his person without vaccination, but persuasion had no effect, as he seemed to place more confidence in the efficacy of Camphor and Tobacco. He left Halifax on the first day of January, and at the above date died at home, adding another name to the list of victims to that fatal disease the Small Pox. "

His wife, Mary, then went to Argyle to live with a relative, a member of the Hewitt family. She died the following year, on ugust 7, 1829, and is buried at his side out by the shore in Louis Head, in the Pride Cemetery.

The Pride Cemetery is an appropriate name for it, as it is on Ira Pride's grant of land, and he and Mary are the last to be laid to rest there. However, for years it was called simply, "The Cemetery". It was the only one around, and a nice spot that didn't interfere with the fields. It was rocky and hard digging, but they only needed to get the bodies deep enough so animals wouldn't dig them up again. Before burial, they would wrap the body in sailcloth, which usually was just an old sail that had seen better days in the sun, the wind and rain at sea. When laying the body in the grave, often it had to be laid around, or between rocks too large to move.

A fieldstone was always placed at the head and foot of the grave so they wouldn't dig into one already buried when burying the next one. They never bothered putting the name on a stone because the family knew where the grave was and who was buried there. Who would ever suspect that descendants, many generations later, would come looking for the grave of a deceased relative?

The funerals were very simple, usually a prayer was said at the graveside, and when appropriate, a hymn or two would be sung.

There was no church, or regular minister. Only rarely did a wandering preacher pass through for a proper church service. Otherwise, missionaries performed occasional services, when available. When they did have a service by preacher or missionary, it was usually held in someone's house. In good weather it might be held in a large barn, or even outdoors in the open.

Shortly before Ira Pride made his last trip to Halifax with that load of fish, the people in the Louis Head area, realizing the need for a proper meeting house, started making plans. Eventually a site on high ground out on Breakwater Road was chosen, and early in the 1830's, they started construction. When completed, this meeting house was also where any church service was held.

The people of Sable River were also in need of a proper place to worship, so they, too, would attend any service in this meeting house. These intermittent church services continued until 1841, when it was established as the Sable River Baptist Church. It was one of seven received into the Fellowship by the Nova Scotia Baptist Association when it met in Yarmouth in June, 1843.

It was a long way for the people of Sable River to travel to church, so in 1856 they established their own church "at the head of the river", and naturally, called it the Sable River Baptist Church. Therefore, the people of Louis Head, by resolution, promptly changed the official designation of their old meeting house to the "Louis Head Baptist Church".

The usual practice was for the yard of any Meeting House, or Church, to became the cemetery. Therefore, the yard of this first Meeting House became what is now the Louis Head Cemetery. The first burials there are the fieldstone grave markers at the eastern end of this 'new' cemetery. Ira's son, William Pride, who died February 26, 1844, at age 76, is the first grave to have a marked stone in this new cemetery, although it was placed many years later by old family friends, the Abbotts.

This Church, or Meeting House, on Breakwater Road served many years, then many years later, it was decided to build a larger church, or meeting house as it was still called. In 1888, Mr. Whitman Giffin, and Mr. Stephen Giffin, each donated a part of an acre of land for the building, and during the next three years, the shipwrights from the Pride Shipyard, built the beautiful Louis Head Church. Money was raised by auctioning the use of the pews, and pew number four was purchased by the Abbott and Cole families.

On March 31, 1890, this church was sold for the sum of $1.00 to the Western Baptist Association of Nova Scotia and of the Baptist Convention of the Maritime Provinces. The building was dedicated on February 12, 1893.

The Reverend John F. McKeone, whose picture hangs there on the wall, conducted occasional services as a young Missionary when the church was out on Breakwater Road. He conducted the first service in this church. Although it was unfinished, it was nearing completion. Most unfortunately, he did not live to see this church completed. He died on October 9, 1889, at the age of 71 years.

In about 1892, when this church was new, $75.00 was collected from the members for the new "Pulpit Set", and it was lit by the hanging kerosene lamp that still hangs overhead. The church itself was lit by the two chandeliers, each holding six kerosene lamps. In about 1930, they wanted a better lighting system, so the two chandeliers were removed and replaced with the six hanging Aladdin Lamps.

In the fall of the year 2000, because of the favorable reception of an evenings Lamplight Service, the old Aladdin lamps were replaced with new Aladdin lamps. The old Aladdin lamps, manufactured during the mid 1920's, were returned to the company as partial payment, and one of those lamps is today, in the Aladdin Lamp Museum in Nashville, Tennessee.

In November, 2004, these two old chandeliers were refurbished, and hung back in place, with counterweights for raising and lowering, as they had been originally.

In February, 2002, the roof shingles were starting to blow off, and woodpeckers had cut two holes in the wood shingles of the steeple. Not realizing the church was owned by "The Home Mission Board of the United Baptist Convention of the Atlantic Provinces", a small group pooled the available funds to repair the church. The roof was sheathed and shingled, the steeple was sheathed with copper, and a new set of steps were built.

When repairs were nearly complete, a telephone call from the "Owners" saying that there had been so few services on record, the church was probably so badly deteriorated that it should be tom down. They were assured that this was not the case.

After a short period of negotiation, it was decided that a group, properly formed, could purchase this church for $1.00. Therefore the Louis Head Community Church Society was formed, and received the deed to this church on May 28, 2003, for the price of $1.00, plus legal fees.

Coordinates: 43°45′0″N 65°1′1″W / 43.75°N 65.01694°W / 43.75; -65.01694

References Louis Head on Destination Nova Scotia Edward Burtt, Louis Head, Nova Scotia Simeon Perkins' Diaries Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Head,_Nova_Scotia" Categories: Communities in Shelburne County, Nova Scotia | General Service Areas in Nova Scotia Personal tools Take me back New features Louisheadchurch My talk My preferences My watchlist My contributions Log out Namespaces Article Discussion VariantsViews Read Edit View history Watch ActionsSearch

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History

The purpose of my visit here is to tell you some of the history of the area, and Ira Pride, one of the first Americans that came to this area. You will also notice I brought my notes. That is because when you reach 70, the belts that run your memory start to slip a little, so I need all the help I can get. Ira Pride's Great, Great, Great, Grandfather John Pride, a shipwright, came from England in 1648. He settled in Salem, a little north of Boston, and died soon after. The following generations of Prides lived in that same area, near the harbor of Salem and Beverly, Massachusetts, and were also shipwrights, shipbuilders and seamen. The Prides were never far from the sea. The farm of his grandfather, William Pride, was near a shallow stream there in Beverly, where the path taken by travelers going north, crossed. There was no bridge, because wading a stream was a convenience, allowing the teams to stop and drink before continuing on. This area then became known as "Pride's Crossing". Other members of the Pride family lived on the highest ground in the area nearby, and that became known as "Pride's Hill". Both of these locations can be seen today on a detailed map of the area, and the houses built there would rival some of the finest mansions in Europe. One of the other families in Beverly, Massachusetts, at that time were the Hewitt's, and they were close friends of the Prides. When his grandfather, William Pride, moved the family to Norwich, Connecticut, in 1723, the Hewitt's moved to Wells, Maine, where they had relatives who were also shipbuilders. In Norwich, Ira Pride's father, who was also named William, married Margaret Fales on May 20, 1736. Her ancestry, like the Pride's, descended from British Royalty. Ira was born there, in Norwich, on December 3, 1741, and that is where he lived until age 21. The Perkins family, in Norwich, were the Pride's friends and neighbors. They were merchants, and very prominent in business circles. Their son, Simeon Perkins, and Ira Pride, became lifelong friends. Simeon Perkins was very smart, very academic and studious. Nova Scotia had been, at times, under French rule, and known as Acadia. Other times it was under English rule, and known as New Scotland, or Nova Scotia. England and France were constantly bickering over control of the Maritimes, and therefore sometimes all, and at other times, only parts, were either under the rule of England, or France. Eventually France had other interests to tend to, and pulled out, giving England full control. For many years thereafter, England tried to get the French citizens to pledge allegiance to the Crown, but they refused, believing France would soon be back in charge again. Therefore, in 1755, and again in 1758, England when had troops available in the area, they rounded up all the French settlers they could fmd, or catch, and shipped them elsewhere. Most were shipped back to France, but some were shipped down into the Bayou Country in Louisiana, where the name, "Acadian" was corrupted to "Cajun". A great many French settlers escaped the troops and moved westward into the wilds of Canada, settling in Quebec. By 1760, Nova Scotia was offering land grants, and assistance, to new settlers who would come in to occupy the lands vacated by the French. Back then, this was not moving to a different country, but relocating in a different part of the same country. Therefore, the Pride family became interested in relocating to Nova Scotia, as did many others at that time, and in 1762, they moved to Horton, Kings County, Nova Scotia, and settled along the Bay Shore of Minas Basin. When traveling up the coast, they stopped in Wells, Maine, and visited the Hewitt family, and they were also planning on moving to Nova Scotia as well. While visiting there, Ira could not ignore the fact they had a daughter, Mary, (she was called Polly), who was a year younger than he. The Minas Basin area was not to the family's liking, so they later moved on to Halifax, which was much more suitable to the Pride family's shipbuilding interests. Being young, Ira preferred to step out on his own, so he left and headed westerly, down to Nova Scotia's south shore. His father was so furious at him for leaving the family business, that he disowned him. He said Ira was heading out into the wilderness of the south shore, among the savages where, "There was an Indian lurking behind every tree". One reason for Ira's interest down on the south shore, was because the Hewitt's had also settled there. He and Mary were married soon after, in 1764. The Indians, we refer too as MicMacs, did not oppose the new settlers, instead they just ignored them. However, when Ira found a favorable piece of land that was almost an island, with a good harbor, I wanted to avoid any feeling of hostility, so he approached the MicMac's governing council to purchase it. They could not understand such a strange thing as someone owning a piece of land. However, if he wanted to pay them something to use it, that was fine with them, and this he did. Shortly after this, two things occurred. First, Ira found the area west of the Sable River very much more to his liking. It had a much larger area to supply timber for his shipbuilding, and a good harbor with a sand beach where a vessel could be comfortably beached at high tide to work on her. Secondly, a fellow came along who said the island, with its good harbor, was just what he wanted, and offered Ira a very good price, which he accepted. They drew up a Bill of Sale, and so, Mr. Jonathan Locke became the owner of the island, which became known as Locke's Port, or Lockeport. That Bill of Sale remained in the possession of Ira Pride's daughter, Mary, who married John MacMillan, and it was passed down through the MacMillan's side of the family, where it remained until recently, and until one of the younger descendents was cleaning house, and cleaned it a little too thoroughly. When Ira first arrived beside the Sable River, during the later 1760's, he had built a house overlooking the Bay. It was quite modest, but adequate for Mary and the five children they eventually had. This house was, in time, owned by Ebon Ringer, and later by his son, Bob Ringer, and it still stands today, out on the Breakwater Road in Louis Head. A few other settlers were starting to arrive in the area on the west side of Sable River, but there was always the uncertainty of ownership until the Province made the final land grants. Once again, to avoid hostility with the Indians, and also to possibly influence the eventual land grants, another settler, Mr. John Coulby and Ira Pride approached the MicMac's council to purchase the area. This area extended from the Sable River westward a mile and a half, almost to Little Harbour, and upriver a mile or more to what is now West Middle Sable. Once again they drew up a Bill of Sale. This one is on record and can be seen today. It reads, in general; "I, Thomas Muse, governor of a tribe of Indians, for the sum of twenty dollars, quitclaim to Ira Pride and John Colby a tract of land: Beginning at the west side of the mouth of the Sable River, thence running upon the Sea Shore westward one and one half mile, thence north one mile, thence east to aforesaid Sable River, thence running upon the west side of the Sable River as the river runs to the first mentioned bounds." The date was November 1, 1779. This was when the radicals down in the lower 13 colonies were trying to throw off the yoke of English administration, and were in the midst of revolution, which was actually more of a civil war. For that reason, some new settlers arrived, leaving those colonies to avoid the conflict. It was not until 1783 when the many thousands of Loyalists landed in Roseway, which Governor Parr immediately renamed Shelburne, that things became rather hectic. The Port Roseway Associates had previously made arrangements with the province to settle in Port Roseway, but they did not expect to have the thousands of other Loyalists to be landed along with them. The Loyalists had been promised land, which was still in the process of being surveyed, and the grants were being handed out very slowly. They were also promised tools and supplies for two years after they arrived. This gratuity was known as "the King's Bounty". When a great many of these new arrivals saw nothing but the great expanses of forests, the rocky land, and the amount of work required to feed and house a family, their old situation back home didn't look so bad after all, therefore, soon after arriving, they turned around and left. England had also promised freedom to any slave that would wear the British uniform, and take up arms against the rebels. Many did, and they, too, were arriving in Shelburne, with most settling in Birchtown. These freed slaves, believing that freedom meant that they didn't have to work anymore, and not realizing everyone has to work to eat, soon were looking to the other settlers for assistance. In time, this led to riots by the blacks in the streets of Shelburne. The treatment of the southern slaves was not as bad as the tall tales told to induce resentment against slavery. To be sure, even today some men beat their wives and kick the dog. The slaves had to work, as we all do, but they were fed, clothed and housed, and although at times rather squalid, it was much better than what they had left in Africa. The people here in the north also had slaves, as did the Pride family. However, they were not seen as slaves, but valued members of the family, and many even took the family name. With the confusion of the freed slaves arriving along with Loyalists who themselves had slaves, the northern slaves preferred to be called Black Servants. About the worst thing that could happen to a Black Servant was to be discharged, or have their owner die. The last Black Servant in Louis Head was an elderly lady. When her owner died, she could only move into a small cabin to live out her days. She was not forgotten however. There was always a pile of wood by her door, meat and groceries in her larder. On the other hand, whenever anyone was ill, or in need, she was always right there to help. She was a treasured member of the community. One of the freed slaves that arrived with the Loyalists was Colonel Stephen Bluck, a well educated and intelligent leader. He made great progress in smoothing over the difficulties between the freed slaves and the other settlers in Shelburne, and instructing the freed slaves on the requirements of freedom. Most unfortunately, one night after a late meeting with the authorities in Shelburne, Colonel Bluck left to walk home. He never arrived. Simeon Perkins noted in his ledger that the following morning his remains were found on the road, where he had been killed and eaten by wolves. In 1791, Britain started shipping the freed blacks, who were dissatisfied with conditions here, to Sierra Leone. To this end, John Clarkson proceeded to offer them passage. The following notes of his unscheduled visit to Port L'Hebert are taken directly from his daily ledger. He wrote; "October 22, 1791, Halifax, Nova Scotia. I went accompanied by Mr. Taylor on board the Dolphin, a small schooner of about 30 Tons bound for Shelburne, which immediately fell down the river, passed by Sambro's Light House at 6:00 A.M. and proceeded with a fair wind at the rate of 7 Knots per hour. Toward evening, apprehending there might be some danger in passing the Ragged Island, we put into Port L'Hebert and anchored about 3 miles up the river." He referred to this part of the country as being an uncommonly wild, endless woodland, with a few wretched inhabitants on the eastern side of the river that had a few acres of half cleared land overrun with large nakedrocks of granite. He wrote; "In the summer they plant potatoes and sow a little corn, and the wealthiest of them perhaps possess a few sheep or a cow. During the winter season they travel on snowshoes hunting wild fowl, Moose, Deer, and Caribou." He and Mr. Taylor went ashore, and on entering one of the huts they received the most agreeable reception from a young girl about 15 years of age entrusted with the care of the house and two small children, her brothers. For the past several days her parents had been gathering in their winter stock of potatoes on the "contrary" side of the river. [This girl was Jenny Lavender, and her parents were over on Harding's Island digging potatoes.] He wrote that, "Her behavior and polite attention would have done credit to a person of the first rank and education, and might have reflected disgrace upon the inferior rank of people in Great Britain. Her manner so simple, mild and unaffected, her general deportment so modest and respectful, left me at a loss for language to express the esteem I felt for this amiable little girl." She furnished them a meal from the stock of provisions that consisted only of potatoes and buttermilk, with a few dried salt fish. He reports that they, "Made a hearty supper of this fare." When they attempted to return to the schooner, they found the creeks were now filled up by the tide and rendered totally impassable. By then it was raining hard, and being very dark, they returned to the house, which they had some difficulty in finding. He wrote, "On our knocking at the door, our little hostess received us with her own peculiar grace and sweetness, making apologies for the inconvenience of her little hut." She had them sleep in the bed which contained a small infant, while she kept the fire going all night to keep them comfortable because, as he wrote, "The wind and the rain beat in at several parts of the house. " The next day, with much difficulty along the rugged paths, they visited all the inhabitants on the eastern side of the river. Upon their return they met her parents who had just come home for a few hours from the opposite side of the water. This was Jenny Lavender's step father, John Richardson, and his wife, Susan. She was the widow of Robert Lavender who had served in the English army and died later in Shelburne. John Richardson possessed 100 acres of land which he had purchased for one guinea. When they were able to set sail on October 24, 1791, at 11:00 A.M, John Clarkson wrote, "Finding we had it in our power to quit the harbour, we took leave of our charming little friend, Jenny Lavender, regretting the little probability there was of seeing her at any future time, and paused to think that so valuable a maid should be entombed in this wilderness and forever secluded from the social comforts of mankind in a state of society." "We got underweigh which enabled us to lay along the shore, and as our Captain was thoroughly acquainted with every rock and creek upon the coast, we gained considerably by keeping close along the beach, frequently passing the most frightful breakers at a very short distance on each side of us. On passing Sable River we were much struck by the appearance of its entrance. " Not all freed slaves wanted to leave however, those who had overcome the obstacles and hardships, cleared their land, built their homes and welcomed the opportunities of this new land, became valued members of the community. Fortunately, in 1785, the government saw fit to grant the so called "Old Settlers", such as John Hewitt, Duncan MacMillan, John Coulby, Ira Pride, and many others, this piece of land that John Coulby and Ira Pride had already purchased from the Indians. With this grant, they were now certain this area was theirs, and would not have to eventually move elsewhere. Ira Pride's section of this grant was at the mouth of the bay, which included the prominent head that juts out into the harbor. From there it went westerly, along the seashore toward Little Harbour. At one time, there had been an elderly gentleman, a MicMac, living on this head, and when he died, he was buried there. His given name was Louis, therefore, this head of land, jutting out into the bay, became known as Louis Head. Then, with the activity of Ira Pride's store and the dock, as well as the new settlers moving in, the entire hamlet nearby also took on the name of Louis Head. Ira Pride built a proper house far out on this head, where a dock could serve the vessels, and also a small store to serve the new settlers. In about the mid 1790's or 1800, Mr. Harold Giffin drew a picture of this house and outbuildings, with a beached vessel being repaired. Most fortunately, this drawing came to light in recent years and copies can be seen today. Ira built his shipyard up on John's Island, where the Sable River enters the bay. It was a good location, and the water was plenty deep for the size vessels that were built in those days. There were two ship ways on the east side, so they could be working on two vessels at the same time. The ship's knees, mast hoops and logs were purchased from the settlers and the MicMacs upriver. They would cut the logs and raft them down river, grounding them out on the upriver side of the island at high tide. After the tide dropped, they would then go out with the oxen and haul them up into the hewing yard where the curved ribs and special planking were hewed, or to the pitsaws. The pitsaws, cursed by the sawyers and praised by the shipwrights. The logs that had to be sawed endways into planking were rolled up onto two beams over a deep pit. The saw itself was only a heavy ripsaw blade with handles on both ends. Two men were on top, and pulled the saw up, the man in the pit below pulled the saw down. In this way they sawed the deck planking, boards and some of the beams. The top men had to keep the saw on line, and hauling the saw back up was a heavy and long pull. The man in the pit below suffered the most. There was little air blowing through so it was hot, and with the sawdust coming down over him he could become most uncomfortable. Worse still, he could not be in the most comfortable form of attire desired for his job, if any ladies were expected to be visiting. If you wanted him for a lifelong friend, you only needed to throw a pail of water down on him occasionally. There were the many other shipyards further up the river, such as the Ryan's shipyard in West Middle Sable and Howard Allen's shipyard up near the town of Sable River.These shipyards on the Sable River were limited in the size of vessels they could build because of the river depths. The smaller vessels could be floated downriver with the outgoing tide, but for the ever larger vessels in later years, after steam tugs came into use, a steam tug would come from Lockeport, and at 8:00 o'clock, the morning after the night of a full moon, the tides would be such that the tug could proceed upriver, and haul a newly launched larger vessel down to Ira Pride's dock at Louis Head, to be outfitted from his store nearby, or, hauled on into Lockeport to be outfitted there. Howard Allen was about the first to abandon his yard and move elsewhere. This came about when he had two vessels on the ways and nearly finished. His workers asked for higher wages than he wanted to give them, so eventually, they stopped work until their demands were met. To get the vessels finished, he fmally agreed to their demands, and, happy with their negotiating success, they finished the vessels. The vessels were launched, hauled downriver, and Howard Allen abandoned the yard, leaving the workers jobless. He continued his shipbuilding in Allendale where he had much deeper water and could build much larger vessels. Ira Pride's oldest son, Ira Junior, became a shipbuilder in the Ragged Islands, a few miles to the west. His second son, William, worked at the shipyard on John's Island, at the head of Sable River Bay. He eventually took it over, and was quite successful there, operating the shipyard until his death in 1844. However, with the need to build ever larger vessels, the yard went into decline, and eventually ceased operations during the 1880's. The shipwrights, with their knowledge of construction, went into church construction, the beautiful old louis Head Church, completed in 1892 being a fine exampie. Ira Pride's Granddaughter, Mary Elizabeth Pride, married Robert Currie, Esquire, on March 21, 1822, and he built their house on the hill, on the neck of land that stretches out to Louis Head Point He was a merchant, and in later years, he and Mary moved into Ira and Mary Pride's house out on the Point, taking over the operation of the store nearby. They never had any children of their own, but three children were raised by them. One was Elizabeth Fitzgerald. She was but a small child when she, and her sister Louise, were the only survivors of a nearby shipwreck. A second child was Mary Pride, and the third was a young boy, Benjamin Abbott, apprenticed to the Curries to learn the merchandising trade. The Louis Head Point had been used by the Indians as a burial ground, and Robert Currie wrote in his journal of one such burial. He wrote of the Indians coming down the river in two canoes to bury the deceased. Unfortunately, the spot where the Indians planned to bury the wrapped body was near the Esquire's bedroom window. Needless to say there was much talk between Esquire Currie and the Chief. Mrs. Mary Currie being a real wife and a woman who could handle and manage affairs, produced a cake and made a pot of tea to cheer. She served all who sat down together. The braves then did the chore they had come to do, where Esquire Currie and the Chief had agreed, and went back up the river with the flood tide's help. In that time period, this point of land, called Louis Head, was very much larger, over twice the size it is today, and there was a large island, several acres in size, out in the bay just off Louis Head Point This was Hughes Island. There were several buildings on this island, and there was even a fresh water well there to serve them. Over the years the sea continued to encroach, and with the winter storms, much of the island washed away. Eventually the buildings were abandoned. Finally, the last building there served as Mr. Thompson's fish house, where his fishing gear was stored. He would come down river in his boat from West Middle Sable, to the island, and from there, head out to sea for his days fishing. Hay was still being cut on the island only 80 or 90 years ago, and as recently as 1950 there was still a large area of grassland. In the spring of the year, it was hard to place a foot without stepping on eggs of the Herring Gulls. Sadly, today, Hughes Island it is only a shoal, awash at high tide. Not only has the Louis Head Point, which became known as "The Fishing Point", suffered over the years, but the location of the original road that served the area is now far out on the sand flats. The Breakwater Road, that came out to the head, also suffered. They piled rocks along the side to protect it, but to no avail. This row of rocks can still be seen today, far out on the flats. In recent years, more and larger rocks were piled beside the present road, far up on the shore, and even these are now being breached during the high tides. Ira Pride's store eventually reverted to being just another fISh house, owned by Alden Giffm, among the other eight fish houses near by. All fishing activity ceased here during the 1970's, and all the nine fish houses remaining were abandoned, as well as the two boat slips, two breakwaters, and aU the abutments. The fish houses were later used by campers for firewood, and in 1988, the government removed all that was left, including the winch installed in 1955 to haul the boats up onto the slip. John's Island remained an island until recently, about the 1960's, when the channel that made it an island, filled in with sand, so today it is but a point of land. Louis Head once had nearly 30 houses, about three times that there are today.

Simeon Perkins

Just prior to 1760, and two years before the Pride family left Norwich, Connecticut, Simeon Perkins had came to Nova Scotia's south shore, and he was one of 140 .settlers that incorporated the town of Liverpool. He did not come to avoid the hostilities in the lower colonies, but . as an agent to represent the family's shipping interests in this developing area. It was a smart decision of the family, and Simeon was an excellent representative. In time, as the area developed, he became a merchant, owned a sawmill, much land, and had shares in many ships. He also held, at various times nearly every office available in Liverpool. However, his greatest legacy to those that followed, were the ledgers he kept from 1766 until his death in 1812. In these ledgers he recorded many births, deaths, ship arrivals and departures, as well as many incidents of interest. Any history of Nova Scotia is not complete without references to Simeon Perkins’ Diaries. He frequently spoke of the Whittemore family in his ledgers. Some had been sea captains, while others were shipwrights. The Whittemore family had its share of misfortunes, however. On February 14, 1800, Mr. Josiah Whittemore was helping to haul hay across the harbor there in Liverpool. He was in the bow of the boat breaking the ice ahead. His staff slipped, he fell in, and was lost under the ice before they could help him. His body was found floating under a dock the following spring. Their older son, Josiah III, was forced to serve on a British man-o-war, and died in a foreign port. Their other son, Thomas, contacted smallpox and died the following year in 1801. Mrs. Experience Whittemore wanted her son buried beside his father, but because of the number of smallpox deaths, he was buried in only a common grave. Simeon noted in his ledger that early the following Monday morning, Mrs. Whittemore went to the graveyard, dug up her son, and buried him beside his father where she wanted him to be. When Mrs. Whittemore died, the doctors of today would say she died of a massive stroke, but back in those days, Simeon reported in his ledger just what happened. “Poor old Mrs. Whittemore. Half of her died last week, and the other half died this morning.” Most fortunately, the Whittemore’s older daughter, Experience “Pella” Whittemore, survived and married Ira’s son, William Pride, on May 1, 1794. Their oldest daughter, Experience “Penna” Pride, married Ben Abbott, They received the tract of Ira’s land that lays across the shore, and built their house on the hill overlooking Raspberry Head. Their house burned down in 1894, but the fields they cleared, the stonewalls they built, as well as their cellar and well, can still be seen today. Their son, Edward Abbott, married Maria Giffin. She was very determined and a hard working lady. They had two daughters, Lena Pride Abbott, and Laura Cox Abbott. Lena married John Wilson Cole as his second wife. His first wife, Jane MacMillan, died young, leaving two small children. Lena, like her mother, was a hard worker, and put up many preserves for winter use. When a jar of preserves spoiled, it was said it had “worked.” John Cole, when speaking of his hard working and tireless wife, said that when Lena was around, everyone worked, even the preserves “worked” in the cellar. The Cole’s also had misfortune in their family. John Cole’s father was Captain John Frederick Cole. He married first, Hannah Perry, and they had several sons. They lived in Osborne Harbour, in the field in back of where the Lobster Company is toda)', overlooking the harbor. She died at age 31. He then married Susan Ann MacMillan from Louis Head, and they had two children, Almira Cole and John Wilson Cole. Captain John Frederick Cole was captain of the schooner Winslow Locke, and his sons sailed with him as crew. Then, in August, 1856, when John Wilson Cole was three years old, he was in the kitchen with his mother, and she was standing in the kitchen door, watching as the Winslow Locke was entering the harbor after a trip to the West Indies. She also saw a vicious line squall fast approaching, and it caught her husband's vessel in a bad way. They could not reach the safety of the inner harbor, or have time to return to the open sea. She could only watch helplessly as the squall swamped the vessel, drowning her husband and stepsons. No bodies were ever recovered. John Wilson Cole never went to sea, becoming a carpenter instead, and Susan returned to Louis Head. On October 17, 1864, Susan A. Cole, married William W. Spence, from Lockport. All further record of her has been lost to the family, except for one bit of information. On February 6, 1997, her great, great, grandson, Dana E. Burtt, over in New Hampshire, while repairing an old eight day clock of unknown origin, found the name, Mrs. Susan Ann Spence, Liverpool, Nova Scotia, written in the back of the clock. John and Lena Cole had two children. One of them, Elizabeth Pride Cole, they called her Bessie. She went over to the U.S. to help her sister tend her ailing husband. While there, she married a local farm boy, William Burtt. It was a whirlwind courtship, as William said later, he met Bessie in January, courted her in February, proposed to her in March, and married her in April. Privateers. Privateers were a constant threat to shipping, and many countries authorized them. By getting a "Letter of Marque" from the authorities, and following the established rules, any ship owner could become a "Privateer" and prey on enemy shipping. A "pirate" however, was a ship owner who had officers. The vessel was taken into port, the goods sold, and the booty divided among the capturing crew. When Privateers brought in a "Prize," and it was found to be a ship of friendly registry that had been previously captured by an enemy Privateer, and now re-captured, it created many long legal battles in the Courts of Admiralty. Simeon Perkins had shares in several privateers, and spoke of being embroiled in many such cases himself. Because Liverpool depended on their ships and shipping, the Privateers were a constant concern. Ira Pride, too, was taken by pirates on two occasions. On the first occasion, he was given the choice of remaining as crew, or "walking the plank." He had no desire to lead the life of a pirate, so he chose to "walk the plank." Walking the plank was not done in your storybook fashion, with hands tied behind the back, blindfolded, with broadswords pressing at the back, forcing each step further out on the plank, only to join the sharks below, with their gnashing teeth, anxious to start their feeding frenzy. No indeed, walking the plank was not that way at all. With a favorable breeze, the pirate vessel drew in as close as reasonable to an isolated beach so the seaman could jump in and swim ashore. The most disagreeable part of walking the plank was the long walk home from the isolated beach where he was put ashore. The second time Ira Pride was taken, was much later, and by a privateer. Again he preferred not to join the crew, therefore they gave him the ship's longboat so he could return home. Simeon Perkins made the following entry about this in his ledger. "Thursday, July 17, 1777. Warm day. Captain Ira Pride who was taken by (Captain) Leach last Sunday, at Port Roseway, came to town in his boat He was in a sloop loaded with staves at Jordan River, and had some goods. The privateers gave him a brig's longboat he had with him, and dismissed all his hands." Please realize, that in those days of sail, before steam tugs were available to tow a vessel in or out of a harbor against an unfavorable wind, a vessel had to "heave too" and wait for a favorable wind. Otherwise, they had to launch the longboats, put the crew to the oars, and haul it in, or out, manually. On November 11, 1781, the Reverend Henry Alline left Barrington on a schooner heading for Liverpool. The next day the schooner was captured by an American privateer. Because he was a Man of the Cloth, he was given the consideration of being returned to Barrington. He then traveled to Liverpool by land, arriving in Sable River on November 22, 1782, where he preached a sermon. He later preached in Sable River two more times, and in his notes he wrote, "The people at Sable River gave attention, but in general it was a very dark people, and the people of the communities along the shore were lost in midnight darkness, some not having heard a sermon in fourteen years." Jonathan Locke was a successful merchant, and operated many vessels. He also had many friends and knew the ways of the sea. He lost very little to the Privateers. Benjamin Arnold, on the other hand, was a very determined individual. He operated, or had shares in, many vessels, and the Privateers plundered his vessels mercilessly. Finally, in desperation, he decided to become a privateer himself, and capture some of it back. Fortunately, he was an excellent seaman and was quite successful. Benjamin Arnold, had a large family, his children had large families, and they all lived on the road that goes from Little Harbour, west, to Gid Hemeon's Point. There were so many Arnold's in that area, it became known simply as "Arnolds", and even today, the highway sign directs you to that area called Arnold's, although there are no Arnolds there anymore. Little Harbour itself once had so many families with the name of "Swansburg" that for years it was called Swansburg, and was listed as such on some maps. Captain Thomas Clement Drapier was one of the most dreaded American Privateersmen to prey on the Nova Scotia shipping during the Revolutionary War. The following is the record, as it was written, about the end of Captain Drapier's privateering days. Throughout 1779 Captain Drapier, aboard the schooner "Sweat" continued to be a source of worry to Nova Scotia shipping. A Council ofWar was held at the Government House in Halifax to plan ways to stop these plunderings, but Drapier always managed to thwart their schemes. In October, 1779, Captain Nathaniel Freeman made another effort to outwit Captain Drapier. He launched a tiny thirty-five foot schooner, named "Brisk", that had been patterned after the lines of the "Sweat". She carried no guns except one small cannon that threw a two pound round shot. The Blue Peter that flew from her main gaff was no larger than a pocket handkerchief, and the lettering on her stern was only two inches in length. She carried aboard four particularly small boys dressed like the crew, who were to be placed so they could be seen by any pursuer, while the regular crew was kept out of sight. This tiny craft, with Ira Pride as master, sailed up and down the coast hoping to draw Drapier into a trap. On December 7, 1779, he spotted Drapier cruising offSt. Margaret's Bay. Setting off a dummy smoke to port, Ira Pride waited a moment then fired a blank shot from his two-pounder to starboard. He repeated this several times, knowing that someone aboard the "Sweat" would count the time from the puff of smoke to the report and estimate the distance. When Drapier saw the schooner in the distance he gave immediate chase. He could not read her name on the stem with his telescope, and the crew looked so small, that he got the impression that the schooner was as large as the "Sweat", and he soon learned she could sail almost as fast. His quarry was heading in a dash for Heckman's Island. He had gained on her enough to read her name on the stem, and soon the "Sweat" was in waters uncharted for her, but the opinion of Drapier and his officers was that where the "Brisk" could go, they could go, so they sailed on. Drapier was warned that something was wrong as the water shoaled at six fathoms and gimlet ledges were close by. Drapier gave orders at once and the "Sweat" rapidly lost headway, but it was too late. There was a crunch and the ship was hard and fast on a ledge that only a few minutes before the "Brisk" had skimmed over safely. Five hours later, with the falling tide, the ship careened and lay helpless on her bilge. The terror of the Nova Scotia waters had been caught in Nat Freeman's trap. Under the date of December 12, 1779, Simeon Perkins wrote in his diary: "Privateer Sweat was a few days ago run on a ledge in the mouth of Malagash (Lunenburg) harbor and bilged, and the crew is secured by the militia of Malagash". After the war, Captain Thomas C. Drapier, his wife Deborah, and their daughter, Hetty, lived in Liverpool where the Captain died in 1788. As a young girl, his daughter, Hetty Drapier, worked in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Simeon Perkins.

Louis Head Church

Ira Pride shed his mortal husk on January 11, 1828, in Louis Head when he was at the age of 87. He had taken a cargo of fish to Halifax, and found an outbreak of small pox there. In the newspaper's account of his death, he was criticized for not being vaccinated. He believed he should not get vaccinated, when, on so many occasions, that early method of vaccination gave the pox instead of preventing it. A chew of tobacco in his mouth, and the bag of camphor hung around his neck, had seen him safely through these situations in the past, why should he get vaccinated? You must realize that in those days, just as it is today, the writer is but an individual with their own opinions, prejudices and faulty judgment, and once they print something in the newspaper, it is mistaken for the gospel truth. The following is the account of his demise as placed in the newspapers. "DIED, January 11, 1828, At Sable River, in the township of Shelburne. Mr. Ira Pride, a very worthy and respectable inhabitant of that part of the province, and an honest and industrious man. The death of Mr. Pride may in all probability, be considered amongst that of many, as the effect of prejudice against a remedy which no man should treat with indifference at a moment like the present. He had brought his cargo of fish to Halifax, toward the close of the year and having occasion to do business about the town, he was repeatedly cautioned of the impropriety of risking his person without vaccination, but persuasion had no effect, as he seemed to place more confidence in the efficacy of Camphor and Tobacco. He left Halifax on the first day of January, and at the above date died at home, adding another name to the list of victims to that fatal disease the Small Pox. " His wife, Mary, then went to Argyle to live with a relative, a member of the Hewitt family. She died the following year, on August 7, 1829, and is buried at his side out by the shore in Louis Head, in the Pride Cemetery. The Pride Cemetery is an appropriate name for it, as it is on Ira Pride's grant of land, and he and Mary are the last to be laid to rest there. However, for years it was called simply, "The Cemetery". It was the only one around, and a nice spot that didn't interfere with the fields. It was rocky and hard digging, but they only needed to get the bodies deep enough so animals wouldn't dig them up again. Before burial, they would wrap the body in sailcloth, which usually was just an old sail that had seen better days in the sun, the wind and rain at sea. When laying the body in the grave, often it had to be laid around, or between rocks too large to move. A fieldstone was always placed at the head and foot of the grave so they wouldn't dig into one already buried when burying the next one. They never bothered putting the name on a stone because the family knew where the grave was and who was buried there. Who would ever suspect that descendants, many generations later, would come looking for the grave of a deceased relative? The funerals were very simple, usually a prayer was said at the graveside, and when appropriate, a hymn or two would be sung. There was no church, or regular minister. Only rarely did a wandering preacher pass through for a proper church service. Otherwise, missionaries performed occasional services, when available. When they did have a service by preacher or missionary, it was usually held in someone's house. In good weather it might be held in a large barn, or even outdoors in the open. Shortly before Ira Pride made his last trip to Halifax with that load of fish, the people in the Louis Head area, realizing the need for a proper meeting house, started making plans. Eventually a site on high ground out on Breakwater Road was chosen, and early in the 1830's, they started construction. When completed, this meeting house was also where any church service was held. The people of Sable River were also in need of a proper place to worship, so they, too, would attend any service in this meeting house. These intermittent church services continued until 1841, when it was established as the Sable River Baptist Church. It was one of seven received into the Fellowship by the Nova Scotia Baptist Association when it met in Yarmouth in June, 1843. It was a long way for the people of Sable River to travel to church, so in 1856 they established their own church "at the head of the river", and naturally, called it the Sable River Baptist Church. Therefore, the people of Louis Head, by resolution, promptly changed the official designation of their old meeting house to the "Louis Head Baptist Church". The usual practice was for the yard of any Meeting House, or Church, to became the cemetery. Therefore, the yard of this first Meeting House became what is now the Louis Head Cemetery. The first burials there are the fieldstone grave markers at the eastern end of this 'new' cemetery. Ira's son, William Pride, who died February 26, 1844, at age 76, is the first grave to have a marked stone in this new cemetery, although it was placed many years later by old family friends, the Abbotts. This Church, or Meeting House, on Breakwater Road served many years, then many years later, it was decided to build a larger church, or meeting house as it was still called. In 1888, Mr. Whitman Giffin, and Mr. Stephen Giffin, each donated a part of an acre of land for the building, and during the next three years, the shipwrights from the Pride Shipyard, built the beautiful Louis Head Church. Money was raised by auctioning the use of the pews, and pew number four was purchased by the Abbott and Cole families. On March 31, 1890, this church was sold for the sum of $1.00 to the Western Baptist Association of Nova Scotia and of the Baptist Convention of the Maritime Provinces. The building was dedicated on February 12, 1893. The Reverend John F. McKeone, whose picture hangs there on the wall, conducted occasional services as a young Missionary when the church was out on Breakwater Road. He conducted the first service in this church. Although it was unfmished, it was nearing completion. Most unfortunately, he did not live to see this church completed. He died on October 9, 1889, at the age of 71 years. In about 1892, when this church was new, $75.00 was collected from the members for the new "Pulpit Set", and it was lit by the hanging kerosene lamp that still hangs overhead. The church itself was lit by the two chandeliers, each holding six kerosene lamps. In about 1930, they wanted a better lighting system, so the two chandeliers were removed and replaced with the six hanging Aladdin Lamps. In the fall of the year 2000, because of the favorable reception of an evenings Lamplight Service, the old Aladdin lamps were replaced with new Aladdin lamps. The old Aladdin lamps, manufactured during the mid 1920's, were returned to the company as partial payment, and one of those lamps is today, in the Aladdin Lamp Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. In November, 2004, these two old chandeliers were refurbished, and hung back in place, with counterweights for raising and lowering, as they had been originally. In February, 2002, the roof shingles were starting to blow off, and woodpeckers had cut two holes in the wood shingles of the steeple. Not realizing the church was owned by "The Home Mission Board of the United Baptist Convention of the Atlantic Provinces", a small group pooled the available funds to repair the church. The roof was sheathed and shingled, the steeple was sheathed with copper, and a new set of steps were built When repairs were nearly complete, a telephone call from the "Owners" saying that there had been so few services on record, the church was probably so badly deteriorated that it should be tom down. They were assured that this was not the case. After a short period of negotiation, it was decided that a group, properly formed, could purchase this church for $1.00. Therefore the Louis Head Community Church Society was formed, and received the deed to this church on May 28, 2003, for the price of $1.00, plus legal fees.

References

• Louis Head on Destination Nova Scotia
• Edward Burtt, Louis Head, Nova Scotia
• Simeon Perkins' Diaries