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Victoria

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Victoria is situated on the northern slope of a ridge of land about midway between Oxford and Wallace River.  There is a small lake at the base of the northern slope and a much larger one at the base of the southern slope that separates Victoria from South Victoria.  The stream from the lake is the head of Pugwash River and has been named Pugwash Lake.  This stream runs westward from the lake about a mile and a half, then gradually turns northward again.  It is the western boundary of Victoria and extends eastward to Hartford, a distance of nearly 5 miles.

 

Pioneers began to make clearings and put up buildings between the years 1830 and 1840.  James Ryan and his brother-in-law Isaac M. Henney were the first to apply for grants.  Going west, the applicants were James Gilmore, Connell Boyle, Joseph Livingstone, John McPherson, three bothers of the Ross Family, Alec MacDonald, Samuel Scott, John and Donald MacKenzie, Mr. Fraser and his son-in-law Ebenezer Watson.  Among there were ship carpenters, a social teacher, a chopper and a wheelwright.

 

Henry Betts, visiting Henney and others he knew, was so favourably impressed with what he saw that he induced Mr. Henney to sell him part of his 200 acre lot.  Donald Ross, one of the Ross family, procured a lot on the eastern side of the Henney Grant.

 

The lack of good roads was a very great hindrance to the comfort and prosperity of the settlers but by government aid and much free labour added to what the statute labour act required, they soon succeeded in having quite passable roads.  The Statute Labour act, at that time, exacted six days from every householder, one day for every pair of oxen or horse fit for use and two days from those sixteen years old and upwards until they became householders.

 

About the time Victoria became Queen of Great Britain, the settlers began to consider a name to choose for their new settlement.  They finally selected Victoria in honour of their newly crowned monarch, hence the name by which it has been known and likely will continue to be known down the ages.

 

Of the two groups of families - Ross and Fisher - the latter moved elsewhere after their mother’s death, except James, who remained for several years.  The Ross girls, of whom there were four - Christie became the wife of Malcolm MacLeod, Gulf Shore; Jessie was wooed and won by John McPherson, her next neighbour; Margaret became the wife of Samuel McPherson, John’s brother who settled on the McPherson homestead in Pugwash River; Elizabeth died a few years after the family settled in the woods among the pines and hemlocks.  The father was so injured by the falling of a tree that he died from the effects.  The mother lived some years after her son Alexander who had the homestead.                              

 

It may be stated here that the Ross family came from Tain or Crowmarty, Rosshire, Scotland to Wallace in the spring of 1833 and rented a farm from Donald McFarlane on which they remained three or four years before they settled on their granted lands.

 

John McPherson was one of the family who settled near Pugwash River.  He succeeded in getting a 200 acre lot beside the Livingstone grant.

 

John and Donald MacKenzie were sons of Kenneth MacKenzie who located south of Wallace, two miles or more, when he come to this country.  He was on the lookout for lots for his three sons and secured a grant for the land on which they settled.

 

The others who secured grants along this ridge lived first in Pugwash and some other places of which the writer has no accurate knowledge.  James Livingstone, a lame man, brother of Joseph, got the part of his lot north of the road and made his home there for several years and lived in the settlement the rest of his days.

 

Their buildings were of the most primitive construction at first, but those who were healthy, energetic and persevering succeeded in a few years in having larger and better for themselves and their animals.

 

The barns were built large enough to hold the hay and grain and good floors on which to thresh their grain in the fall.

 

John Fillmore, at the head of the Pugwash River tide, had a sawmill and grist mill about three miles from the settlement which was a great convenience in regard to getting lumber for the buildings and their grain ground.

 

Pugwash was their great market where they bought and sold.  Pugwash doctors were called.  Religious services were attended occasionally in Pugwash.  Voters had to go to Pugwash to vote for the chosen candidates.  In fact, the people appeared to be an essential part of Pugwash and Pugwash an essential to the inhabitants of the settlement.  It was thus until Oxford began to draw trade there.

 

In the first years of pioneer life, during the summer seasons when there were no roads or wagons, when deaths occurred, the bodies were carried on two long poles by two suitable horses.  The ends of the poles were placed in the stirrups of the saddles between the horses and then thoroughly secured and carried in this matter to the place of burial.

 

Some sad accidents occurred that may be mentioned.  About the year 1847, in the month of September, Mrs. Neil Mattinson, Mrs. Donald Ross and her son of South Victoria were crossing the lake to visit neighbours in Victoria in a leaky boat.  Before they reached the opposite shore, notwithstanding all their efforts to bail the water out of the boat and row to shore, they were unable to reach the landing and they sank.  Neil Mattinson, who was watching them from where he was in his farm, seeing them go down, started at once to a point extending into the lake with all the speed he possessed, shouting as he went.  He swam across and soon discovered where the boat and bodies were and diving secured his wife and brought her to land.  The vital spark had fled and could not be restored.  Others reached the place as quickly as possible and assisted in getting the other bodies.  The lifeless bodies were carried to the McPherson home, it being the nearest and prepared for burial, sympathizing friends and neighbours doing what they could to aid in the work and console the bereaved.

 

Three or more years after the drownings, Mrs. Joseph Livingstone had one of her knees injured.  The usual simple applications were applied but the injury would not yield to such treatments.  At length a doctor was procured from Pugwash who tried his skill but the result was the same.  The injured limb was getting worse.  He then advised Mrs. Livingstone to get young Dr. Tupper on the case, as he was spoken of as very skilled as a physician and surgeon and acquired all the latest knowledge in surgery and medical science as known in the universities that he attended.  He was procured.  The doctors diagnosed the injured limb and finally decided that it would have to be amputated.  They did so.  Her suffering and the loss of her limb weighed so heavily on her vitality that she survived only a few weeks after the operation.  After the burial, Mr. Livingstone became so discouraged that he sold his belongings as soon as he could and left Victoria a thoroughly despondent man.

 

About the year 1853, James Gilmore of Victoria and his brother-in-law Elijah Tuttle of Pugwash, who were each raising a large family of boys and girls, conceived the idea that if they had good timber lands a saw mill nearby, they might add to their income during the winter, when they could not do much on their farms.  They found what they considered suitable for their requirements, made purchases, built a dam and a sawmill and were operating their plant about a year or more when on the last Monday morning of 1854, when commencing work in the mill, James Gilmore fell on the floor and expired almost immediately.

 

On the evening of the 30th of December, 1866. John McPherson, a full grown son of Mr. and Mrs. McPherson, Victoria, went on the lake north of his home for a skate.  The ice being too weak where he was skating, it broke.  He could not pull himself out.  His shouts for help were heard by some and they ran to his assistance but before they reached him he sank,  His body was recovered next day in about twenty-five feet of water.  Since then, skaters on these lakes made sure there was no danger before they ventured on them.

 

The education of the rising generation was not neglected.  A school house was built and used for some years near James Ryan's west line, but accidentally, it was burned.  During one winter, school was kept in part of the Ryan house, but the next summer, preparations for one being well advanced in the spring, another was built near where the present school house now stands.

 

Alexander McDonald, James Barclay, Robert Barclay and others imparted what knowledge they possessed to the receptive minds under their tuition.  To the credit of the parents be it stated that no youth grew to maturity in Victoria lacking a fair knowledge of the three R's.

 

Before the school system came in force, parents subscribed for the attendance of so many scholars and instead of paying for a teacher's maintenance by a tax, the teacher boarded at every house in proportion to the number of scholars subscribed.  The present method is a vast improvement over the previous one, although the education the youth receive now (1912) has not advanced to the same relative extent.

 

The school house was used as a place for religious services until a church was built near the Victoria cross roads and hall in Hansford near the bridge.

 

It was about 1855 before a mail route was established trough this part of Cumberland, the inhabitants having no postal facilities between Pugwash and the post office at Dr. Phillips, near where the post road crossed the River Philip Road.  To get a mail route established between these points, Thomas Thompson, John Ross and Isaac M. Henney pledged themselves to the then government on Nova Scotia that they would pay the loss to the post office department for three years annually if any loss occurred during that time to the department on account of the establishment of the mail route as they desired.

 

The result was that tenders were asked for contract for four years to carry the mails once a week from Pugwash via Victoria and Hansford and up the River Ph8ilip road to Phillips; post office and return to Pugwash via the settlements on the southern side of said River Philip below what is now known as Oxford.

 

Elijah Tuttle and son Guy secured the contract.  Doubtless many old persons now living remember them.  This mail route was continued until the I. C. Railway carried her Majesty's mails, after which the mails were taken to and from Thompson to Victoria P. O. where is has been kept first by Henney and then by his son-in-law, Mr. Giles, since it was established about fifty five years ago.  Those living on farms in Victoria now (1912) are Albert and Alex Ross, on their father Donald's farm, Henry Giles on the Henney farm, Henry Betts, grandson on the homestead.  Francis Ryan has a southern part of the Betts and Ryan lots.  Egerton Betts was on he northern part of the \\\james Ryan property.

 

David, John and William Murphy, three brothers have most of the Gilmore, Boyle and James Livingstone lots.  Maurice Minaken has what James Livingstone possessed; Alec McPerherson has teh eastern part of what his father possessed; Duncan Ross has his father;s farm and the eastern side of what his uncle John had; J. H. Treen has teh western part.  John  McArthur 's heirs have the Walter Ross, Alec McDonald and S. Scott lots; Colin McKenzie, all of the land his father and Uncle John  had; John Morrison and his mother have the Fisher lot and Wilton E. Lockhart has teh Lockhart homestead where he wa born and has lived nearly all his life since his birth.

 

Taking Victoria as it has been since it was first inhabited by white people, it compares favorably witih many other places having similar advantages.  The residents are generally prosperous and consequently have a fair maeasure of contentment.​

PUGWASH

 

70 Water Street: The Clarke House

 

The Clarke House is on lot 103 of the original Black plan of Pugwash. A deed, signed by John and Sarah Black, shows that the land was purchased on Jan. 19, 1847 for 30 pounds by Dr. Joseph Clarke, a physician. The lot was on Water Street starting at Victoria Street and running east 85 feet and south 85 feet.

 

Joseph built a house which he named Napoleon’s Cottage. It also served as his office and his dispensary. In 1854, he also bought lot 106 for 80 pounds. That was on the corner of Water and Durham Street. He sold that land in 1873 to William Henry Brown for $364.00, and it eventually became the war memorial.

 

Dr. Joseph Clarke was born in Kilkenny, Ireland. He emigrated as a young physician and dentist to Nova Scotia. This was unusual as many Irish immigrants were coming to the area, but few were educated. He married Olivia King (Mar. 30, 1827 – Feb. 28, 1910), daughter of Lavina Pineo and Oliver King in about 1850. In 1853, their first child, Cyrilla Clarke (1853 – 1938) was born. She was followed three years later by brother William (1856 – 1882). Child 3, Joseph Holmes Clarke (1860 – 1938) followed soon after being born in 1860. Their newly built house was on Water Street, and Joseph was a successful physician with three children. He practiced out of his house, and it served also as his dispensary.

 

In the 1861 census, he was in a household of 8 in Pugwash, 5 males and 3 females. That same year, Dr. Joseph had a schooner built in Wallace, The Janet. Unfortunately, it sank in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 1862. In the 1864 Hutchinson’s Directory, Joseph is listed as a physician and dentist. In the 1871 census, the family of 5 are in Pugwash and living with them are Hiram and Clara Huston. Hiram was an engineer at a steam mill. Servant Maggie Satoris is with them as was a sailor, Joseph Akerly.

 

Daughter Cyrilla married Edgar Augustus Elliott in 1874 in Amherst. Dr. Joseph Clarke was obviously a man of some influence and service to the village. On August 27, 1857, he was appointed coroner for Cumberland County. He held other offices for the village. In 1858, he was an assessor. In 1858 - 60, he served as commissioner of streets. In 1870 and 1875, he was one of three school trustees. In 1871, he was an overseer of the poor. In 1872, he and Dr. Creed participated in the examination of Mr. Macaulay’s 103 students. In 1877, he had a meeting with the premier to change the route of the Northern Light which went to PEI through Pictou. He successfully pressed for it to be changed to going from Pugwash to Victoria instead.

 

The Christian Messenger reported that on Jan. 25, 1880, Dr. Clarke, just before retiring, went into his surgery to get some medicine and made a mistake, taking carbolic acid instead of the preparation he intended to take. Before he had drank the whole dose he discovered his mistake and told his wife that he was poisoned and had only a few minutes to live. Dr. Dakin, who lived just across the street, was at once called and used all possible remedies, but Clarke died in half an hour. The Miramichi Advance added that he had not been well for some time. Dr. Creed and Dr. Mackintosh also arrived but Dr. Clarke was speechless and could only wave his hand to indicate that there was nothing to be done. Reports of his death showed that the deceased had been in practice for a great number of years and had been particularly successful in the treatment of diphtheria. He practiced out of his house, but he also was said to travel into the countryside regardless of weather. He was buried in Palmerston Cemetery.

 

The appraisal of Joseph’s estate showed 3 pieces of real estate – 17 acres of land on Irishtown Road, 1 lot in Pugwash of 80 feet x 80 feet with a house and a barn, and a farm of 150 acres where Thomas Sarson was residing. The lot in Pugwash and the furniture was deeded to Augusta and Cyrilla including the portion owned by son Joseph Holmes. JH relinquished all right to his portion of that land and deeded it to his mother and sister. By the 1881 census, Olivia was a widow. She was living with her daughter Cyrilla Elliott, also a widow, sons William and Joseph Clarke and Cyrilla’s children Daisy and Pearl. In 1891, she was still in her house in Pugwash with Cyrilla, Daisy and Edmund as well as lodgers John Seaman and William Morgan.

 

Olivia was burned out twice. On July 25, 1898, a raging fire struck the Durham Street area. Winds fanned the flames and without a fire department, eighteen families were rendered homeless. Olivia’s house was completely lost along with 17 other properties, including the house and barn of her son, Joseph Holmes Clarke. In 1899, Olivia was rebuilding on the site of her former residence at 70 Water Street. In 1899, Joseph’s daughter Cyrilla married again to Clarence Edward Reed a sea captain in Pictou. Cyrilla’s son Edmund Pearl married Hattie M. Hay that same year in Truro. Her daughter Daisy Elliott married Stephen Percival Wilson also in 1899. Joseph’s brother William had died without having children. In the 1901 census, Olivia is living alone. On Sept. 10, 1901, the Clark house was again damaged by fire resulting from thieves blowing up the safe in Brown’s store which was adjacent. The house caught on fire several times, but was saved by the people. The town had no fire department. Finally, on Nov. 11, 1901, was a large fire that almost wiped out the town of Pugwash. Olivia’s damage was recorded as $1500 for loss of house and furniture. As the winter coal and vegetables had been laid in, the damage was even greater.

 

Olivia had to build again. By January of 1902, they had decided to also build a meat market on the property. This structure was right next door to the house she was also building, the house that is there now. Olivia died on Feb. 28, 1910, of softening of the brain and exhaustion. She is buried in Willow Grove Cemetery. She was C of E. This is interesting because son, Joseph Holmes Clarke and family were RC.

 

In 1911, according to the census, Cyrilla and Edward Reed were living alone in the house.

 

Cyrilla’s brother, Joseph Holmes Clarke (April 8, 1860 – Jan. 13, 1938) was initially employed as a bookkeeper and auctioneer. In 1879, Joseph was a surveyor of lumber. He married Agustia (Gussie) Adilea Walsh (Mar. 17, 1866 -   ) on July 16, 1886 in Pugwash. In 1898, when he was a general merchant, they lived in Pugwash. Their house was burned in 1898, with the loss being assessed at $800 and insurance at $300. In 1901 they were in Pugwash with children Adilea, Joseph and Alexander. They were Roman Catholic. He was a general merchant and also a surveyor of lumber. In 1915, a poem of his was published in Moncton called “Home is home where ere it be”. In 1920 he was a fence viewer. This was a municipal post. He became very active in municipal government, receiving appointment as stripendiary magistrate at Pugwash, acting periodically as returning officer for municipal elections and even running as an unsuccessful Liberal candidate for a seat on County Council in 1922. In 1927, he was a Customs Collector. He also worked for a time as a conductor for the railway out west and as the station agent and telegrapher in Pugwash Junction.

 

In 1911, Joseph, Gussie and the children are all in Pugwash. In 1916, Joseph Holmes is living in a hotel in Cochrane, Ontario working for the railway according to his son’s attestation papers. In 1921 Joseph and Gussie are in Pugwash with son Joseph V. In 1931, they are in Pugwash with Daisy Wilson who is listed as their boarder. She was Joseph’s niece. Joseph was a judge by then. Joseph Holmes and Gussie’s eldest daughter, Adilea Mary Clarke (May 6, 1888 - ) became a teacher. When she retired, she moved into the Clarke house. After Adelia died, the house was empty for some time.

 

JH’s second child, Joseph Valentine Clarke (Feb. 14, 1890 [1901 Census] - ) joined up for WWI in March 1916 from Winnipeg where he was a switchman. He was hit by a bullet on Vimy Ridge, and his right arm was amputated. After his return to Canada, he married Jean Elizabeth Thompson on Sept. 14, 1921. She died, and he married Christina Williams in May of 1928. Chrissy renovated the family house and she and Joseph moved in.

 

He was an insurance agent for 40 years and sold his business in 1969. Jophie and Chrissie’s second child was Joseph. Another child was Marion Clarke who won a beauty contest and from that was offered a contract by the CBC in 1953 to work in television. She gave up her career as host of The Saturday Show in 1957 to marry Darroch MacGillivray. Their third child, Alexander Bernard Clarke (Jan. 31, 1892 – June 13, 1953) also enlisted in 1914. At Ypres, he was wounded and taken prisoner. His leg was amputated. He was returned to Canada in 1917. He married Marie Clarisse Cantin in Calgary and moved to BC. Joseph and Chrissy’s fourth child was James David Clarke. They had grandson Darren Clarke who wrote an article about spending his summers in Pugwash in the Clarke house. According to him, Joseph V. smoked and loved pipes and had a room in his house dedicated to pipes. When Joseph and Chrissie became older, they moved to a smaller house down Water Street. 

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Darren Clarke was a grandson of Joseph and Gussy and son of James David Clarke..  He wrote excerpts from reminiscences for “The Left Field Lark” June 18, 2018 Travel section.

 

Sitting on my grandparents’ sun porch in a rain storm – Pugwash is a tiny little town of 784 that sits on the Northumberland Strait at the mouth of the Pugwash River. My grandparents’ house sat on the corner of the town’s main streets, Water Street and Victoria Street. The sunporch overlooked Water Street and wrapped around half of the length of the house that ran parallel to Victoria. The windows were weathered, vaguely distorting the outside world. If you were sitting in the front of the house, you could look across Water Street and see Pugwash bay, its clay-coloured beach just steps away.

 

Memories of visiting my Grandfather - . . . lounging in lawn chairs beneath the tree in my grandparents’ back yard listening to my grandfather regale me, indeed educate me, with war stories and tales of his time as a magistrate – good decisions, bad decisions, funny decisions, in his endeavour to provide justice, the people he met, the ones that surprised him, the ones he respected, the ones that let him down and beyond that his stories of long lost World War I battlefields, former boxing champions (Tommy Burns) and so much more.

 

My grandfather’s pipes – My dad’s dad had tons of smoking pipes varying from simple corn cob pipes to straightforward wood pipes with plastic ends to crazy cool wood ones, some with improbably intricate metal ends. We loved them. He had an entire room dedicated to his pipes.

 

On the porch -The guns I remember really, rifles which appeared to be circa World War One. There was tons of random stuff there: almanacs, nicnacks, magazines, pins, old metal lighters that didn’t work.

 

The village – memories of collecting bottle caps out front of the same corner store in Pugwash where you bought the little packages of seaweed to eat.

 

70 Water Street was bought by John Caraberis and Bonnie Wood in 1996. They rented it to Dale O’Hara and Erin Horton who turned it into a restaurant known as Walden Pond, named after the book which Dale had been reading. It was a successful business. The current kitchen was the kitchen of the restaurant; there were two rooms which are now the dining room and living room and an outdoor deck on the Victoria Street side. Reception was from Water Street and Dale and Erin lived upstairs. It was next sold to Peter Sietel who used it as a storehouse for antiques.

 

In 2025, it was again bought by John Caraberis and Bonnie Wood. They renovated: municipal water was connected, the foundation was fixed, there was some new wiring and plastering, new heat pumps and a new roof were installed, the sun porch was repaired and a new entrance from Victoria Street was built. , and it is currently being occupied by a family who are new to the area.

 

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