John (Godsman) Davidson (1740 - 1790)

Born 1740 in Banffshire, Scotland

Died 17 Jun 1790 at about age 50 in New Brunswick

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Biography

William was a member of the 1st Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick.

William (Godsman) Davidson is Notable.

William Davidson was noted as the first English-speaking European settler on the Miramichi River in New Brunswick and ran of the colony's first commercial lumber businesses.

Early Life

The first fact about William Davidson was that his name was not at all William Davidson. He was born John Godsman, and only changed his name to William Davidson later.

He was born circa 1740 in Banffshire, Scotland. His father was John Godsman. His mother was a daughter of William Davidson (His eventual namesake). He started life as a fisherman, engaging in the Scottish salmon fishery.

Immigration to the "New World"

He emigrated to Nova Scotia Colony in 1765. The Seven Years War between the French and English had ended in 1763 with the cession of most of Canada to the English. They were desperate for protestant setters to keep the land productive and to offset against the Roman Catholic French settlers, some of whom remained through the Deportation of the Acadians in the 1750s and others who had returned after the Royal Proclamation of 1763 allowed as such.

Protestant settlers were coming from many places during this time, including Germans and Huguenot French, English and Scottish Presbyterian. William Davidson belonged to the latter group. His original goal was to set up a fishery on some river in Nova Scotia. He partnered with a man named John Cort. Together, they secured a grant of of 100,000 acres along the Miramichi River. They were required to clear and improve the land, plus establish one settler for every two acres of land. (Side note: In 2022, the entire geogaphical area of William Davidson's land grant still does not have 50,000 residents)

It was understood that he was to share the fishery with the local aboriginal population. Other than that, he was free to exploit the natural resources of this vast area.

Beginnings of the Lumber Industry

William began bringing workers into the area to fish from New England and Europe, developing a local economy based on trading in fish and furs. He quickly realized that this only worked for half of the year, however, as the harsh Miramichi winters do not allow for fishing. He quickly turned to the areas's bountiful lumber trade as a secondary industry, and thus developed the first major lumber business by an English-speaking settler in Canada.

Davidson's lumber was in heavy demand for shipbuilding. He eventually started a shipbuilding business himself and built any large vessels on the Miramichi. A number of vessels were lost during shipping operations on voyages to trade with Europe.

American Revolution

The Amerian Revolution affected trade throughout the North American continent and arguably worldwidue to to embargoes and blockades in place preventing trade between English colonies and the "rebel states" The company buying Davidson's wood eventually closed its operations, leaving him with no market for his lumber.

In 1777, he moved to Maugerville on the Saint John River. Maugerville was a community settled in 1763 by descendants of Puritans who had no love for government interference nor the Anglican Church (Most were non-conformists) Many were sympathetic to the rebel cause. It was from this community that a number of dissenters, led by a preacher named Seth Noble, petitioned to join the rebel states in 1775. Some of the residents participated in an attack of Fort Cumberland in sympathy with th Americans, for which some suffered penalties. Thousands of United Empire Loyalists were granted land in the area at the end of the war in 1783, sparking huge economic growth.

Return to Miramichi

Davidson returned to Miramichi at the of the war, likely understanding the the large number of Loyalist settlers who would soon be coming would require timber. It would be one of the largest expansions of New Brunswick's population in its entire history. He spent his remaining years in Miramichi shipping as much timber, fish and as many ships as he could produce.

In the end, Davidson lost most of his land grant in Miramichi as he failed to live up to the conditions on the grant requiring it to be developed and settled. Some of his grant was re-allocated to other settlers. He continued to develop the remaining land and brought new settlers in, never ceasing to be a consummate entrepreneur.

Political Activity

In 1784, the new colony of New Brunswick was separated from Nova Scotia and was being organized. William Davidson became a Justice of the Peace for Northumberland County. He was subsequently elected to the first New Brunswick Legislative Assembly in 1786 and served until 1790 as a representative for Northumberland.

Marriage and Family

William married Sarah Nevers at Maugerville sometime between 1777 and 1779. She was a daughter of Dr. Phineas Nevers and Mercy (Green) Nevers of Maugerville. They had 5 known children:

1. Elizabeth Davidson 1779-?
2. William Davidson Jr. 1780-1844
3. Phineas Davidson 1782-1863
4. Jane Davidson 1783-?
5. Alexander Davidson 1787-1860

Death and Burial

William died after being caught in a severe storm in February 1790 while walking upriver in snowshoes. We was forced to seek shelter in a haystack. Nearly freezing to death, he never recovered from the cold and died on June 17 of that year at the age of 50. He was interred at the Saint James Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Derby on the Miramichi.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #178341811, William Godsman Davidson (1740-1790)