WILLIAM PAUL circa 1800 - 1885

Many of the coves and rivers of the Island were ideal places in which to build ships, which were in great demand in Britain due to the expansion of marine trade. The forests of P.E.I. provided the raw materials needed to build ships and the lumber that was exported in them when they were taken across the Atlantic and sold. West River was no exception and a ntmiber of ships were built on its banks. Of particular importance to Bonshaw was a shipbuilder called William Paul.

In 183 8 William Paul purchased a 108 acre parcel of land in Lot 30 that had been part of the original Loyalist grant of James Frazer (34). (He was noted as building two schooners in Covehead, RBI. in 1829 and 1833 and the profit from these may have helped finance his move to Lot 30.(3 8)) The land was part of the Frazer grant to the north of the West River, below where Strathgartney Homestead and the golf course are today.

William must have set to work building almost immediately as in 1839 he launched the "Helen Stewart", a 91 foot long brig with a tonnage of 258 (38). Unlike his previous ships, William did not own any part of this one. It was owned entirely by Andrew Duncan, a merchant in Charlottetown. Andrew must have been pleased with William's work as he had him build two more still larger ships. On October 3rd of the following year William launched a 3 masted 98 foot barque called the "Ninian". It was described as "a fine copper fastened barque" with a registered tonnage

of 362 (35).

The 1841 census provided a glimpse of William and his family. Of the property he owned only 8 acres had been cleared and on it during the previous year he had produced 30 bushels of oats and 100 bushels of potatoes. His stock consisted of one horse and 4 hogs, indicating that his major income was from shipbuilding, not farming. His household was composed of his wife, himself and two young girls, presumably his two daughters (32).

In 1842 William launched his largest ship, a 377 ton 103 foot barque, named the "Mary Jane". In 1845 he launched his last vessel, a 75 foot 112 ton brigantine named the "Mary", which he built for William Lord, a merchant in Charlottetown (3 8).

In 1855 William purchased a house lot on King Street, Charlottetown and had a house built, but in the 1861 census he was still listed as a shipbuilder and resident of Lot 30 (36,37). What he did between building his last ship in 1845 and 1861 is unknown. Maybe he did ship repairs at his shipyard. By 1864 he was resident of Charlottetown and in 1867 he sold his Bonshaw property to Robert Bruce Stewart and his connection with Lot 30 and Bonshaw ended (39,40).

The outstanding question with regard to William Paul and shipbuilding is: Where was the shipyard? The most probable location was at the bend on the river on the low piece of land just below the west end of Bonshaw bridge where Sheldon McNevin's house now stands. There certainly was a shipyard there. The 1880 Metcham’s Atlas notes the location as "site of old shipyard" and Sheldon has found evidence of activity when he has been excavating for foundations (41,42). Unfortunately, no proof has been found to connect William Paul with the site but no other location seems to be suitable for building ships of the size he built. So we can assume that this was very probably where his shipyard was located.

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