Family History 2.42

Bigelow History: post-1630

from Wikipedia

Cornwallis Nova Scotia

Cornwallis was until 1994 a military base called CFB Cornwallis. Now closed, the former base and surrounding area is known as Cornwallis Park and is used for civilian purposes. There is still a somewhat military presence in the area with the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre which is a non-profit, independent organization which was setup in the same year the base closed.

 

Also making their home in Cornwallis is the Annapolis Basin Conference Centre which is now one of the top meeting facilities in Nova Scotia. They have taken over a number of the previously military buildings and use them to host many different conferences and events.

 

Convergys, which is a worldwide provider of customer contact centres, has a large operation in Cornwallis which is one of the region's largest employers.

 

Communities associated with the Bigelow Family

 

Wolfville

The house on Main Street, Wolfville, where Amasa was living at his death.

Home to Acadia University, Wolfville is well known as a University Town. Their population of around 3700 basically doubles when students arrive for the school year. Acadia has been a pillar to the community since before Wolfville officially became a town. It was incorporated in 1893, 55 years after Acadia was founded.

 

Prior to 1830 Wolfville was known as Mud Creek because of its mud filled harbour. This name is still celebrated with the annual Mud Creek Days Festival.

 

Downtown Wolfville is a great place to browse unique shops or enjoy a fine dining experience. Taking a walk down Main Street on a nice sunny day is a great way to see Wolfville and just some of the things it has to offer.

 

Kings County

 

The first inhabitants of the coast, valley and interior of Kings County were the Mi'kmaq. Archaeological evidence from sites in the area indicate Mi'kmaq habitation dates back thousands of years. The Mi'kmaq were a semi-nomadic people who followed seasonal food sources. Their lives changed with the arrival of the Europeans.

 

The colonization of "Les Mines" and Grand Pre began in the 1680s when a few families relocated from the French settlement at Port Royal. These "Acadian" settlers were named after the French name for the land "Acadie" meaning "land of plenty". These farmers were accustomed to farming on dyked lands, and did so here as well. This took place on the normally salty but fertile marshes that were found on the banks of the Minas Basin, through the use of dykes and aboiteaux that allowed fresh water to enter but kept out the salt-water tide. The Acadian farmers prospered in Kings County, and lived harmoniously with the Mi'kmaq. The Acadians and Mi'kmaq jointly fought numerous battles against the British in the Raid on Grand Pre, Battle of Grand Pre, and the Siege of Grand Pre.

 

The house in Hilliton where most of Amasa's children,

including John, were born

After defeat and expelling the Acadians, British control of the land was secured by repopulating the former French lands with settlers from New England. Between 1760 and 1768 some 8000 New England Planters arrived in Nova Scotia, the largest number settling in Kings County in three agricultural townships: Horton, Cornwallis, and Aylesford. The Planters revived and expanded the Acadian dykeland agriculture through projects such as the Wellington Dyke and cleared more upland fields, gradually moving west from the initial settlements along the Minas Basin Rivers. The legacy of the New England Planters is still a tangible part of the life in Kings County, and had an important influence on Nova Scotian ideas on democratic government, freedom of religion and equality of education.

 

The Planters were followed in the 1780s by further settlers from the United Empire Loyalists and significant numbers of Irish immigrants. The roots of Black Heritage in Kings County began almost 250 years ago when the New England Planters were accompanied by slaves and freed Blacks to settle in Horton and Cornwallis townships. This initial African population increased with larger migrations following the American Revolution and especially the War of 1812. Further waves of immigration followed in the following two centuries, adding to the population and diversity of Kings County.

 

Kingsport

 

Kingsport is located just northeast of the mouth of the Habitant River, on the west side of Minas Basin, a few miles east of Canning at the eastern end of Route 221. It is bordered by a tidal marsh to the west and sandy beaches to the south and east. Red sedimentary cliffs carved by continuous erosion rise from the beaches to the east. The dramatic 12 metre tides produce very large sand and mud flats at low tide. The village is surrounded by large expanses of fertile farmland.

 

An earlier name was Indian Point, later changed to Oak Point due to the number of oak trees that grew along the bank of the south side of the lower road, leading to the wharf.^[1] The name was finally changed to Kingsport in the 1870s, as it became the major port in Kings County.^[2]

Early history

As indicated by the name Indian Point, Kingsport is believed to have once been a summer settlement of the Mi'kmaq. It was also part of the Acadian farming community which stretched along the Habitant River. After the expulsion of the Acadians in 1755, Kingsport was settled by New England Planters One source indicates that Indian Point is mentioned as Lot 16, second division, Cornwallis township granted to Benjamin Newcomb in 1761. Another source says that Kingsport was founded in 1761 or 1762 by Isaac Bigelow who came from Connecticut and was given a grant of land called Oak Point, now Kingsport. Bigelow is the most favoured and Isaac’s son, Ebenezer, born in 1776, is thought to have built the first house in Kingsport.

Shipbuilding and the Railway



The house in Kingsport where Amasa's first child, Ebenezer was born.



Shipbuilding emerged as a major industry in Kingsport beginning in 1833 with the launch of schooner Emerald.^[3] "Some of the largest and finest ships ever built in Canada were designed and built by Ebenezer Cox of Kingsport," according to shipping historian Frederick William Wallace.

 

 Starting with the schooner Diadem in 1864, Cox became the master shipbuilder for a series of partnerships which built over 30 vessels of increasing size. Most had names beginning with the letter "K" and began known as the "K Ships". The shipyard included a large mill and blacksmith and used tuboats to brings rafts of timber from the Cape Blomidon area.

 

The Kingsport yards reached their peak in 1890 with the launch of the four masted barque Kings County followed by the ship Canada in 1891, two of the largest wooden ships ever built in Canada. Launch days for these vessels were the biggest events in the history of Kingsport, some of them attracting up to 3000 people from across the Annapolis Valley.

 

The collapse of the wooden shipbuilding industry in Atlantic Canada in the late 19th century led to a decline in the yard with the last major launch being the barquentine Skoda in 1893. The final Kingsport built vessel was the schooner FBG built in 1929, the last coastal schooner built in all of Nova Scotia. The Kingsport yard refocused for a number of years on ship repair, using the massive Minas Basin tides as a natural drydock into the 1920s repairing such vessels as the American Bradford C. French, the largest three masted schooner ever built.