The Cogswells in America - citizen hylbom blog

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Halifax paper. A man named Paterson was convicted of forgery, and trans-
ported to England h)- oxAtx of Judge (afterwards Sir Brenton) Halliburton, with
a threat of capital, or some other severe punisliiiient, if he should ever return
to Nova Scotia.
.\ more elaborate work in three volumes, bearing nearly the same title as
the above, "Murdoch's History of Nova .Scotia or Acadie," was published in
1866 It is more a chronicle than a narrative, and seems to have been
intended by its author to serve as a book of reference to future historians.
From its pages we learn that in 1758 a proclamation was issued by the Pro-
vincial government, setting forth the great extent and value of the lands
vacated by the French, and inviting those who might desire to settle on them
to apply to " Mr. Hancock, at Boston, or the Messrs. Delancie and Watts, at
New York." Applicants were informed that the land was to be divided into
townships of one hundred thousand acres, or about twelve square miles, and
to insure a considerable resiiknt population, it was resolved that no one person
should receive a grant exceeding one thousand acres.
In April. 1759, four delegates from Connecticut and one from Rhode
Island came to Halifax to negotiate the terms of settlement. They were
Major Dennison. Messrs. Jonathan Harris, Joseph Otis, and James Fuller,
from Connecticut, and Mr. John Hicks, from Rhode Island. In the month
following their arrival the seal of the Province was attaclied to deeds convey-
ing grants in the townships of Horton and Cornwallis to the Connecticut del-
egates Mr. John Hicks, the delegate from Rhode Island, and Mr. .^mos
Fuller desired that lands should be reserved for them and their constituents at
Windsor. From information contributed very kindly by Barclay Webster.
Esq., barrister at law at Kentville, Nova Scotia, it appears that by a deed bear-
ing date July 21, 1761, some lands in the township of Cornwallis were assigned
to a number of persons, among whom appears the name of " Hezekiah Cogs-
hall," for one share and a half of the original allotment. The spelling of the
surname is remarkable. If it was not the mode then prevailing in Connecti-
cut, it is an evidence of the same carelessness or indiflerence to what was then
probably considered a trivial matter, which is to be found in the pedigrees in
England of members of the De Coggeshall family. Tradition speaks of three
founders of the new population as being remarkable for stature and physical
strength. Mason Cosgwell, son of Hezekiah Cogswell, who is referred to above,
was one of the three. It is mentioned as an instance of his strength that he
could lift a barrel of cider at arm's length, bring it to his h"ps, and drink out of
the bung hole. Had physical sports been encouraged in those days, this
same strength would doubtless have found other opportunities of di-play,
but the spirit of the Puritans was opposed to athletic exercises, as both frivo-
lous and involving a sinful waste of time. They forgot that they themselves
had rejoiced in no less a gymnasium than a nnv iViitineni : that in it they had
not merely to wrestle with the sturdy trees of the " forest primeval," but with
armed men, contesting for no less a prize than the rod of empire. In the
peaceful days that now followed, when the hard work was no longer necessary