Seymour, Sir George F. (1840) Journal of a tour in Canada and the United States: Prince Edward Island, 27 August - 74 September 7840. [Original: Seymour of Ragley Collection, Warwick County Record Office, CR114A/380. Microfilm copy in P.E.|. PARO, Acc. 3485/1. Published 2003/2004 in The Island Magazine, Nos. 54 (pp. 26-33) & 55 (pp. 2—7), as "Prince Edward Island in 1840: The Travel Journal of Sir George Seymour” with an introduction by D. Sobey.]

Sir George Seymour (b. 1 78 7, d. 7870), the proprietor of Lot 73, who for many years had been receiving information from others about his island ’Estate’, final/y visited Prince Edward Island in August 7840. During his three week visit Seymour kept both a short diary and a more extended journal in which he recorded his impressions of the island and the people he met. He travel/ed extensive/y — from Lot 73 in the west to Georgetown in the east — recording usually only occasional comments on the landscape. However for Lot 73 his descriptions are much more detailed — though unfortunately there is little of a botanical nature recorded. His mentions of tree species are very brief — his over-riding interest lies in the value of the land and of its timber as a profit—generating resource 2 and it is as such that pine trees are mentioned a number of times. All the same, the material extracted is of interest because it gives a general picture of the state of the forests of Lot 73 in 7 840 and of the extent of their exploitation since Robert Gray’s travels on the Lot forty-seven years before. Especial/y useful is the fact that we are able to locate fair/y precisely the actual route of Seymour’s journeys across Lot 73 and to pin—point on the map many of his descriptive comments. From his journal, it is evident that Seymour was a very astute observer and commentator, not only on the landscape but also on the people he met, including James Yeo who acted as his host and guide during his visit to Lot 73. Six years later Yeo was to become his agent for the Lot - Seymour perhaps taking the view that the best person to appoint as ’gamekeeper’ of the remaining timber was the man who had been ’poaching’ most of it. And eleven years after that — in 7857 — Yeo was finally to become himself the Lot’s owner and proprietor.

Seymour ’s entire career (apart from honorary appointments in the House of Lords and the Flo yal Household), had been spent in the Royal Navy: he had entered it at the age of 70, served active/y throughout the Napoleonic Wars, and thereafter worked his way up the higher ranks to become eventually in 7866 Admiral of the Fleet at the age of 79. What kno w/edge he had of the island ’3 forests would have been influenced by the earlier correspondence

he had received from his various island agents, and during his visit of 7840, by others he came into contact with, such as James Yeo.

REFERENCES:

Greenhill, B. & Giffard, A. (1967) Westcountrymen in Prince Edward’s ls/e. University of Toronto Press. Laughton, J. K. (1897) Seymour, Sir George Francis. Dictionary of National Biography, LI: 321.

Seymour arrived on the Island by steamer from Pictou on 21 August and during his visit was based at Government House. On Tuesday 25 August he set off from Charlottetown for Lot 13 with his son Henry and Sidney Dea/ey his agent heading westward along the Princeto wn

Road. The woods along at first the country a good deal cultivated till we came to Mr Sullivan’s Lot No. 22 the road to — fine woods and a sandy loam soil. Baited the horses at a solitary farm upon it Princetown. (Bagnalls) he at Haze/grove]...1

After spending the night at Miscouche they arrived at Lot 73 the next morning, and in the

afternoon of the 26 August he was taken by James Yeo to tour the eastern side of the Lot (see Figure 7 for his route):

Lat 13" rode to the West along the Road from near Passmores... Scrambled along thro bogs occasionally a bad path. My horse got his legs thro a rotten corderoy Bridge but scrambled up The woods improved as we advanced. These at first denoting a boggy soil in places — Passed the S W branch of Trout River & after advancing about 3 miles from Passmores. Turned up a Timber Trail slanting back to the Right which Pines & hemlock. carried us thro the heart of the Reserve 2 — a few Pines left, much Hemlock 8| young hard woods indicating a good soil but the plunder of timber is evidently going on. came out on the reserved Land (which forms the confluence of the two Branches of Trout River) The cliffs are reddish and the Trees have been burnt on the Promontory but the situation is a fine one Crossed a wood bridge near a Saw Mill let to Maclean, & rode in at the back of two farms on the North bank...to look at the

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