10 A Bridge To The Past

WILLIAM SCHURMAN, LOYALIST Planner and Developer

Although William Schurman, the Loyalist, only lived in Wilmot Valley for the last decade of his life, yet his patronage was felt almost from the day of his arrival on Prince Edward Island in 1783. His harassment and insecurity as a United Empire Loyalist in his home in New Rochelle, New York, his short stay in Shelburne, Nova Scotia, and his first winter in Tryon, Prince Edward Island all seemed to nurture within him a strong desire to acquire and develop property, not only for himself but for his un- fortunate refugee friends.

He found a proprietor who was willing to accept Loyalist settlers and purchased 350 acres for his own use in Lot 25. Then from his little log cabin thatched with seaweed down by the Dunk River in Central Bedeque, he made the necessary arrangements and in 1784 he brought a company of Refugees from Shelburne, Nova Scotia and saw to it that they were alotted land in and around Bedeque, generally 500 acres to a married man and 300

acres to a single man.

The 500 acres which he received for his own use was in Wilmot Valley, Lot 19. He never lived on this land but sold it in lots some years later. His centre of activity was Bedeque, a place name that in the early years included Wilmot Valley and other surrounding areas. With his own ship, a wharf and a store, he carried on a trade in timber and merchandise. Everything was going well until misfortune struck and his log cabin with most of its contents was destroyed by fire. He replaced it with a larger frame house. A few years later, his ship “The Mary” was lost at sea with all hands, in- cluding his nineteen year old son, Benjamin.

Financially he was doing well and before long had money to invest. His next venture—shipbuilding, saw several ships that he had built, sail out of the Dunk River on the spring freshets at intervals 0f1W9 9r three years. The sale of these ships brought good returns and in 1808 he invested a large sum of money in 6500 acres of land in the northern half of Lot 25, The nearest point of this land was only two and one-half miles from his own farm. The Wilmot River flowed through the centre of this land and the rich soil was covered with excellent timber.

William, with his usual enthusiasm and enterprise soon had the river

dammed, a sawmill erected and men hired to operate it. What a happy day that must have been for the few settlers who were living in Wilmot Valley in

1808! Now they could plan beyond the cramped quarters of their little log cabins and visualize a low roofed frame dwelling, using smooth Wide boards, square sills and sawn rafters, all from their own trees and milled in their local saw mill.