North Cumberland Historical Society
ROCKLEY or ROCKLY
Rockley or Rockly is a community situated between Pugwash and Oxford on the eastern side of the River Philip, along approximately six miles of Highway 321 between Roslin and Port Philip.
In 1811, the first land was granted at Rockley to Mr. Thomas LeFurgey. He was a UEL who came from PEI and built a log cabin by the river. He was the first pioneer settler in Rockley. The cabin was later replaced by a frame house. John Peel also came from PEI and settled on the adjoining farm.
Also in 1811, land was granted to Mr Bennie Seaman. David McCormick bought that land and built a frame house in 1843, but moved on to Oxford. Foly Cameron lived on an adjoining property.
Another first settler was Archibald Campbell from Scotland. When he was a boy, he ran away from a boat which was loading in Pugwash. He followed the shore down the gulf. He was hungry but afraid to let folks see him in case they sent in back. He looked in a farmhouse window and saw a woman making porridge. He decided she must be Scottish too, so he went in. It was the farm owned by Angus McLean. He stayed there until he grew up and settled in Rockley.
Donald Gordon and his wife Janet had come from Aberdeen, Scotland in 1803. Their son Alex Gordon was born aboard the ship the night they arrived in Pictou Harbour. His wife was Margaret Campbell from Glasgow, Scotland. They lived for a time in Elgin, Pictou. In 1869, son John Gordon came from Pictou and bought the farm which had belonged to David McCormick. His brother, Simon Gordon, settled on the adjoining farm which had belonged to Foly Cameron. The parents resettled there in Rockley as well.
Other early settlers were Melroys, McLeods, Frasers, McKays and Burnsides.
The first school house was located between the farms of Cameron Gordon and George Mills. The first teacher was Mr. Nixon. He lived in a room that was built on the back of the schoolhouse. The present school was built by James W. Chisholm of Oxford in 1866 on a different lot. The IOGT lodge used to meet in the school in 1886.
The Baptist Church had been the Harney home which was across the street from where the first school had been built. It was moved across the road thanks to efforts by David Mills and other citizens. Mr. Haverstock was the first minister. In 1947, the building was turned over to L.O.L was was used as the Orange Lodge Hall at Port Howe.
Rockley was named from the stone quarries which were situated on the farms of George Mills and Austin Smith. Called the Grey Rock Quarries, they were operated by Mr. Seaman of Minudie. The men worked 11 hours a day for 80 cents a day. An American company later took over and the stone was shipped to New York.
The first saw mill was a whipsawing mill operated by hand. It was later replaced by a saw mill on the farm owned by McCormick and was situated on Gordon Creek. John Fraser had a dam built in the brook beside his house with a paddle wheel attached to a saw. John MacLeod later lived there and was a shoemaker.
Benson Goodwin operated a blacksmith shop. Ben Chase sold carriages, harness and machinery of all kinds. He also loaded tan bark onto schooners which would come into the wharf at the quarry. This bark was taken to Logan’s Tanner in Pictou.
Dr. Creed at Pugwash was the first doctor.
The mail first came from Oxford. A post office was later established at Woodbury Burnside’s where the Chase house is now. Mail delivery started in 1910 with Alex MacLeod as the first carrier.
A phone line was put through in 1908 and taken down again in 1912. The present service was started in 1920.
The first highway was built in 1862. It was paved in 1938.
As of 1948, the industries were identified as farming, fishing and lumbering. The farms were small scale and raised fruit, vegetables, grain and hay. It was noted that there used to be numerous flocks of sheep, turkeys and geese raised, but the number was dwindling. There was however still a wood cutting unit, a thresher and a shingle mill in the community. People were fishing smelts with bag nets in the fall. There were some oyster beds and some salmon. Lumbering and cutting stove wood was still being done.
A Rockley Mystery
Mary Harney was 16 when she started out for her father’s cows on a Saturday night in early September and never returned. Hundreds of men searched the woods the next day - the ground was soft from an all night rain, but not a footprint was found. Weeks later a girl’s body washed ashore on PEI. A piece of her dress was sent to Rockley and was said to resemble the material in the dress Mary wore. Many an oldtimer would talk of the lights flashing through the darkness on the Harney farm.
Excerpted from an article by Mrs. Douglas MacLeod in the Oxford Journal of June 24, 1948
Civil Marriages
26-08-1875 Rockly Cum Co Pb Rev John McRae Sutherland
PALMER Calvin 21 B farmer Wentworth Cum Co Alexander & Phoebe Purdy
MACLEOD Sarah 23 S Rockly Cum Co John & Grace Kerr
28-02-1876 Oxford Cum Co Pb Rev John McRae Sutherland
FRASER John 36 W joiner Elmsville Cum Co Duncan & Nancy
FRASER Janet 30 S Rockly Cum Co Alexander & Margaret
07-09-1876 Rockly Cum Co Pb Rev William S Darragh
PALMER George Edward 22 B farmer Wentworth Cum Co Jonathan & Emily
MCLEOD Catherine 23 S Rockly Cum Co
11-03-1879 Linden Cum Co Pb Rev William S Darragh
MCINTOSH Angus 22 B farmer Carrington Cum Co John & Jessie
FRASER Matilda 23 S Rockly Cum Co Alexander & Catherine
03-11-1881 Rockly Cum Co Bp Rev Henry Bool
STEVENS Philander 42 W storekeeper Wallace River Cum Co Oliver & Anna
CAMERON Christie 18 S Rockly Cum Co Alexander & Sarah
03-03-1883 Pugwash Cum Co Bp Rev Henry Bool
BURNSIDE Woodberry E 34 W farmer Rockly Cum Co William & Lucy
MCKAY Elizabeth 26 S Rockly Cum Co Donald & Janet
05-07-1884 Rockly Cum Co Pb Rev William S Darragh
KING Willard 28 B farmer Kolbec Cum Co Cyrus & Henrietta
FRASER Christy A 26 S Rockly Cum Co William & Mary
23-07-1885 Linden Cum Co Pb Rev Samuel R Stormont
FRASER Hugh W 26 B farmer Carrington Cum Co Simon & Isabella
MCLEOD Christy A 20 S Rockly Cum Co John & Grace
02-06-1886 West Pugwash Cum Co Pb Rev James A McKenzie
MCKAY Hugh 33 B farmer Rockly Cum Co Donald & Harriet
CUMMINGS Bessie Bent 24 S West Pugwash Cum Co James & Helena
05-01-1887 Rockly Cum Co Pb Rev James A McKenzie
MCINTOSH William 48 W mechanic Oxford Cum Co John & Margaret
FRASER Isabella 33 S Rockly Cum Co Alexander & Margaret
29-03-1887 Rockly Cum Co Pb Rev James A McKenzie
MCKAY George R 24 B farmer Port Philip Cum Co Alexander & Mary
STARRATT Lucy 26 S Rockly Cum Co John W & Catherine
04-07-1888 Oxford Cum Co Pb Rev James A McKenzie
WEBB George W 29 B mechanic Oxford Cum Co David H & Esther
WILSON Hattie E 20 S Rockly Cum Co Abram & Maggie J
27-06-1889 Claremont Cum Co Pb Rev William S Darragh
DICKSON Thomas 53 W farmer Rockly Cum Co John & Jenny
KENT Sarah A 34 S Claremont Cum Co Alexander & Jane
06-09-1897 Rockly Cum Co Bp Rev C H Haverstock
DAVIDSON John S 37 W painter Dorchester Mass USA James & Jane
MILLER Minnie H 27 S Rockly Cum Co David & Christie
28-12-1898 Rockly Cum Co RP Rev Joseph H Brownell
PATTON Frederick D 31 B farmer Roslin Cum Co Rand & Permillia
GRAY Elizabeth 28 S Rockly Cum Co Daniel & Sarah J Sydney
28-12-1898 Pugwash River Cum Co Pb Rev A D McIntosh
FRASER Russell 23 B farmer Rockly Cum Co John & Lavinia
PATTERSON Margaret Alice 20 S Pugwash River Cum Co Samuel & Sarah
07-06-1899 Westchester Stn Cum Co Bp Rev John Clark
WILSON John 24 B upholsterer Oxford Cum Co Abraham & Margaret
WEBB Clara Maude 25 S Westchester Cum Co Edward & Amelia
29-04-1900 Mount Pleasant Cum Co Pb Rev Christopher Munro
MILLS George 27 B farming Rockly Cum Co David & Christy
SIMPSON Emma 24 S Mount Pleasant Cum Co Robert & Catherine
08-11-1900 Rockly Cum Co RP Rev Joseph H Brownell
CHASE Frederick 33 B farmer Oxford Cum Co John & Jane
GRAY Cassie Leona 24 S Rockly Cum Co Daniel & Sarah
28-05-1902 Pugwash Cum Co Pb Rev A D McIntosh
SMITH Edward Botsford Chandler 23 B farmer Port Howe Cum Co Morley B & Rebecca
FRASER Margaret Mabel 20 S Rockly Cum Co John Allan & Lavinia
13-04-1904 Roslin Cum Co Pb Rev Christopher Munro
LEFURGEY Albert 30 B farmer Roslin Cum Co Elijah & Mary Ann
SIMPSON Mary J 25 S Roslin Cum Co Moore & Ann
18-10-1905 Rockly Cum Co Mt Rev Donald Farquhar
MCKINNON Charles A 25 B farmer Rockly Cum Co John & Jane
TAYLOR Mabel S 24 S Rockly Cum Co Anthony & Ellen
03-12-1907 Wallace Bridge Cum Co Bp Rev L J Tingley
ANTHONY William E 33 B bookkeeper Pugwash Cum Co Robert & Louise
MCKERRON Agnes R 22 S Huntley Aberdeen Scotland Alexander & Agnes
01-02-1909 Amherst Cum Co CE Rev A J Cresswell
WALSH George William 22 B cook Amherst Cum Co John & Rebecca
LEFURGEY Minnie Etta 21 S Rockly Cum Co Elijah & Ann
25-10-1909 Oxford Cum Co Pb Rev John W Britton
JOHNSON Harvey E 24 B blacksmith Port Philip Cum Co George & Lena
CHASE Sadie Jane 20 S Rockly Cum Co Benjamin & Mary
28-10-1909 Amherst Cum Co Bp Rev T Richard Peede
CHASE John B 21 B farmer Rockly Cum Co Benjamin & Mary
ALLEN Ethel May 17 S Port Howe Cum Co Thompson & Mary
16-02-1910 Oxford Cum Co CE Rev C O’Dell Belyea [of Pugwash]
WILSON Mitchell 28 B ICR station man Rockly Cum Co Abraham & Margaret
STONE Ada E 23 S Oxford Cum Co Edward & Jemima
14-07-1910 Amherst Cum Co Bp Rev David A Steele
GORDON John Cameron 30 B farmer Rockly Cum Co John & Mary
MCINNIS Annie Belle 25 S Oxford Cum Co Alexander & Lavinia
28-06-1911 Rockly Cum Co Bp Rev Edward E Locke
TROOP Wesley 21 B mechanic Amherst Cum Co Edward & Clara
CHASE Irene 21 S Rockly Cum Co Benjamin & Mary
27-12-1911 West Hansford Cum Co Mt Rev W Henry Watts
SCHURMAN Curry Creelman 23 B carpenter Collingwood Cum Co James & Jane
GOODWIN Amelia May 18 S West Hansford Cum Co Benson & Clara
08-10-1913 Amherst Cum Co Bp Rev J T Dimock
SARANTO Paul P 30 B merchant Amherst Cum Co Peter & Lula
LEFURGY Juanita/Waneeta 23 S Rockly Cum Co Elijah & Fanny