Peake Business Papers (1836) Dockets recording the survey of timber for 1836. P.E.l. PARO: Acc. 2881/578—583.

In 7976 a packet of old business papers was discovered in a Charlottetown attic, covered in soot and pigeon droppings, and was handed in to the Public Archives. They turned out to be part of the business records of James Peake and company dating from the mid-nineteenth century. Among them were dockets on which the timber surveyors working for the company had recorded the quantities and types of wood received from individuals at various places on the island, from Bedeque in the west to Three Rivers in the east. The dockets from 1836, the first year of the records, sometimes noted the tree species of the timber and these have been extracted below. The founder of the operation, James Peake, had arrived in Charlottetown in 1823 from Plymouth and had proceeded to set up a ship-building and mercantile business which in its day was one of the most successful on the island. Peake contracted for the construction of ships in many of the island’s harbours, especially Rust/co Ba y, St. Peters Bay and Three Rivers. As part of his business Peake purchased timber in various parts of the island, both for building his ships and for export, mostly to England, on the ships that he built. The timber was often delivered directly to his log booms in the Montague River and at Charlottetown. Although the surviving dockets cover a twenty-four year period, the timber surveyors recorded less detail after 7836, both as to the type of wood ion/y hardwood and softwood are recorded) and its source.

REFERENCE: De Jong, N. & Moore, M. E. (1994) Shipbuilding on Prince Edward Island: Enterprise in a Maritime Setting 1787—7920. Canadian Museum of Civilization, Ottawa.

Montague River. [1] l — — ] 1836 Montague River. Spruce 2 pieces, Pine 25 pieces. , [2] [ — ] Apr. 1836, Dunk River, 49 pieces Pine Timber. Dunk River. [3] 30 Apr. 1836 Surveyed and measured Malcolm McLean’s 65 pieces Pine Timber 4 pieces Spruce [tonnage given]. There is one piece of Pine in the above lot dimensions follows 25 +2391, 13 +22—43 E Thornton [4] 14 May 1836 [no place] 19 pieces hardwood, 8 pieces Pine, Thos. Chappell South Shore. [5] 16 May 1836, Survey for Neil McLean and Murdock Campbell. South Shore, 30 pieces hardwood. [6] 18 May 1836, Survey for Don’d McNevin, 12 pieces hardwood by Thos. Chappell. Charlottetown. [7] 18 May 1836 Charlottetown Survey for Alex’r McKay 40 pieces hardwood 29T 17ft Thos. Chappell surveyor 7/6 [on back: Alex’r McKay, Don’d McKay and Hector McNiven (Donald’s son)] Three Rivers. [8] 29 May 1836 Three Rivers 6 tons Spruce. . [9] Rec’d from Malcolm McLean 72 tons and 24 feet lumber into Peake’s Boom, Three Rivers. 30 May 1836, 4T 38ft of the above is spruce. Three Rivers 4 June 1836, John Cameron. [10] 31 May 1836 from Don’d McPhail and Co. [i.e. John Currie, Neil McPhail and Donald McPhail] 49 Sticks Birch, survey by James Moore. Bedequa {11] 2 June 1836, Survey by T. Chappell from James Yeo and Peake, Bedeque

215 pieces Pine 14 hardwood 6 Spruce 3 Juniper.

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