Early Settlers

There are no records stating the first person or persons to have settled in Advocate. There were First Nations peoples in the area long before Champlain arrived but they had a long history of migratory movement as they searched for good hunting and fishing areas. They did not tend to settle in areas to farm or clear land. They would have been in Advocate on a number of occasions but not to settle there.

Champlain never mentioned meeting any French settlers while in the Advocate area between1604 and 1607. Andrew Hill Clark wrote a book, Acadia: the Geography of Early Nova Scotia to 1760. He shows the various areas the French settled in Nova Scotia before 1760 and there was no such settlement shown in Advocate. In the land grant map of 1784, for Advocate, it shows a French dyke extending from the Point Hill area to the Big Beach and also a water mill at Spicer’s brook, just west of the present cemetery lane. This would indicate that perhaps several French families did locate in Advocate. It is not known how many there were, what their names were or where they went. There were no roads, churches or stores constructed by them, which would imply that their time in Advocate was short.

12 Lots

As indicated earlier, the Government of Nova Scotia issued the first land grants in Advocate between 1784 and 1789. The 11 people receiving the land never settled on it. The fact that a person received a land grant does not indicate when he settled on it or if he ever did. The following list details the owners of the various lots and who was the first to settle on them:

LOT 1

Lot 1, granted to Samuel Weatherbe in 1789. Sold by Amelia Dickson (Onslow) to Daniel Knowlton Jr. (Advocate) in 1798. Daniel was the first to occupy the land.

LOT 2

Lot 2, granted to James and Michael Bourke in 1788. Sold by James Bourke (Windsor) in 1791 to Nathaniel Pettis (Parrsboro). Sold by Laughlin and Allen McIsaac (Parrsboro) in 1809 to Lutheran Morris Sr. (Parrsboro). Lutheran was the first to occupy the land.

LOT 4

Lot 4, granted to John Arnold in 1784. Sold to David Hoar in 1786. John McDonald (Advocate) received this lot in 1803 via a deed of conveyance. John had three sons: Allan, Ronald and Malcom and Lot 4 remained in their hands until 1834. Then Allan and Robert sold their rights to Malcom and he sold the property to William Armstrong, John Armstrong, John Malcom and Thomas Malcom (all of Newport). In 1836 William Armstrong became sole owner of the property and sold it to Robert Dewis, Samuel Dewis and George Reid. Samuel sold his share to Robert and George, and George sold his share to Robert in 1845.Robert sold Lot 4 to Joshua Dewis in 1841. Robert and Samuel had returned to the Economy area by 1838. John McDonald would be the first to settle on this lot, followed by Robert Dewis.

LOT 5

Lot 5, granted to John Arnold in 1784. John sold the west half to David Hoare in 1786. This west half in 1803 became the property of John McDonald via a deed of conveyance. It stayed within the McDonald family like lot 4, until purchased by Robert and Samuel Dewis and George Reid in 1836. Robert became the sole owner in 1841. The east half of lot 5 was sold to James Spicer by Ebenezer Hoar in 1802. James Spicer (Cornwallis) sold to Joshua Ward (Advocate) in 1811. Joshua sold to Samuel Morris Sr. in 1814. Samuel sold the west half of his lot to son Enoch and the east half to son Charles Edward in 1855. The first house built on the west half of Lot 5, about 1885, belonged to Beriah Cogswell, husband of Maria Dewis.

LOT 7

Lot 7, granted to Jacob Lynds (Onslow) in 1784. Jacob sold the land to his brother Barnard Lynds (Advocate) in 1787. Barnard sold the lot to Robert Spicer (Spencers Island) in 1793. After Robert died the farm was divided between his sons John and Joseph. The west half of the lot was held by John until 1846 and the east half by Joseph. Joseph sold his land to Joshua Ward in 1822 and it remained in Ward hands until 1865 when Charles Ward sold it to Samuel Morris.

LOT 8

Lot 8, granted to Patrick Manning in 1789. This lot was sold seven times to people living in Cornwallis and Horton until John Blenkhorn (Advocate) purchased the property in 1838 from Justice Bigelow of Cornwallis. It remained in the Blenkhorn family for a number of years. John would be the first to settle on the land.

LOT 10

Lot 10, granted to Aaron Crow in 1784. James Ratchford sold the property to John McDonald (Advocate) in 1798. The lot was bought and sold along with Lot 4 and the west half of Lot 5. It became in possession of William Armstrong in 1841 and he sold to Alexander Knowlton in 1856. Alexander sold to Joshua Dewis in 1868.

The house currently on what was Lot 10.

LOT 11

Lot 11, granted to James Morrow (Londonderry) in 1784. Adam Morrow sold the lot to James Pettis in 1793. James sold the west half to Patrick Ward in 1794. Patrick sold the west half to James Duff (Parrsboro) in 1796. James Pettis sold the east half to Benjamin Sanford (Cornwallis) in 1796. Edward Sanford sold Lot 11 to Stephen Loomer in 1812. Stephen sold to David Loomer in 1828 and David sold to Daniel Knowlton in 1833.

1. Provincial Archives of Nova Scotia, RG5, Series P, V52, #79
2. Provincial Archives of Nova Scotia, RG5, Series P, V52, #110
3. Provincial Archives of Nova Scotia, RG5, Series P, V55, #40