John Bragg, Esq.

Bragg Family Crest

Bragg Family Motto Fidelis et Constans (Faithful and Steadfast)

John Bragg was born in Chaffecombe, Somerset , a small industrial village near Taunton.  His father, John Emanuel Bragg was a boot maker and many in the family were also involved in the garment and leather goods industries.  John grew up with three brothers, William, Thomas and Emanuel Jr. And three sisters, Amy and 2 Sarah's. Often, in families, when a child dies, the next child is given the same name - so we can assume that John's first sister, Sarah must have died in infancy.

 His mother was Mary Woodland who also came from Chaffecombe.  Through the next several generations, many young Braggs had Woodland as their middle name.

They were a difficult family to trace since there are two distinct Bragg families in that part of Somerset with many of the same given names and similar birth dates.  The first Bragg is documented in Chaffecombe in the 1200's..

It is thought that William Bragg, John's brother emigrated to New Zealand about the same time as John came to Canada and that William's son, was a seafarer on a whaling ship and visited the Braggs one time while in port in Nova Scotia.  This son, John, had a family in England as well as a Maori family in New Zealand.

John Bragg's signature from the
marriage record of his daughter
Jane 1874

In England John was an apprentice blacksmith to a man who also educated him in penmanship by writing with him on the dust on the anvil. The Braggs have always been noted for their lovely penmanship and John was no exception.  As a young man, he used his spare time to further his education and showed a tremendous desire to improve his lot in life.

When the opportunity arose, he went to sea as a seaman and disembarked at Pugwash.  Thus, John worked his way across to the new world.  Waiting for his opportunity, he left the ship and plunged into the forest following the River Philip up to the settlements.  This last statement suggests that John may have jumped ship as did many young men who were early settlers in the area – including Thomas Swallow who would soon become connected to the Bragg Family.

Being satisfied that here was the opportunity he sought, he walked the trail up Windham Hill carrying his only possession, his axe.  And so began his life in Canada - a life full of experiences and rich in achievement.

Keeping in touch with his neighbours at River Philip, he met Jane Rogers, who had come to visit her sister, Sarah - Mrs. Thomas Dobson Taylor Sr.

On January 2, 1838 they were married and established a home in Windham where they lived until his death in April 1,1884.  Jane was born in Lutes Mountain in New Brunswick.  She was the daughter of James Rogers of Shepody, New Brunswick and Rachel Johnson of Truro, Nova Scotia.

John and Jane had 7 children, Mary Elizabeth (Lizzie), Amy Ann, Charles, Lucy Jane, Robert Peel, William and John Medley.

John Bragg's farm at Windham Hill

At one time when his family was still small, John Bragg travelled to Upper Canada and northern parts of the United States looking for a better situation.  He liked Western New York State very much but decided it was not enough better to justify the expense of moving his family from Windham.

Mr. Bragg cleared the land to make a large farm and his buildings were among the best of the times.

At the Agricultural Fair held annually during those years at River Philip, Mrs. Bragg and Mrs. Stephen Oxley carried off the butter prizes.

John Bragg and Jane Rogers
home at Windham Hill just

prior to demolition in the 1960s

Jefferson has declared that the schoolhouse is the fountain head of happiness, prosperity and good government.  John Bragg was a firm believer in education and if the surrounding settlers could not afford a teacher, he engaged one for his own children and the neighbours 'children were permitted and invited to attend. Among those early teachers may be mentioned Cynthia Hewson of River Philip and Laura Seaman of Barronsfield.

It is said that John Bragg was one of the characters of that widely read and very interesting old Nova Scotian Literature "Sam Slick the Clockmaker"by Haliburton.

He tried to be the best in what he did.  When he was to sow a field of wheat, his horses were fed wheat instead of oats for a week or more before working that land.  Mr Bragg was early recognized as a leader of men and soon became a member of the Sessions - an early governing body of men.

It was told that at one time, a measure was introduced which John Bragg and others believed to be for the country's good, or for it's best interests.  The President of the Sessions refused to put the motion.  Mr Bragg promptly picked up his chair and walked to and on the platform, set his chair down and sat on it  Rising almost immediately, he put the motion which was carried and placed on record.  Mr Bragg then took his chair and returned to his place in the audience.

Justices of the Peace:

In the days under review, there was a distinct lack of legally trained people; yet, there was as great a need, as ever, for appointed individuals to adjudicate and to settle civil disputes. An upstanding member of the community would be appointed and charged with the duty to keep the peace in the area named. "Their principal duties consist in committing offenders to trial before a judge and jury when satisfied that there is a prima facie case against them, convicting and punishing summarily in minor causes, granting licenses, and acting, if County Justices, as judges at Quarter Sessions." (OED.) "Police work, petty justice, the poor law, and every function of local government" depended upon the justices of the peace. (Trevelyan's England Under Queen Anne vol. 1, p. 101.) Trevelyan, in another work of his, English Social History at p. 353, "... generally speaking the Justices who did most of the work in rural districts were substantial squires, too rich to be corrupt or mean, proud to do hard public work for no pay, anxious to stand well with their neighbours, but often ignorant and prejudiced without meaning to be unjust, and far too much a law unto themselves." With the passage of the County Council Act, 1888, the administrative functions of the Justices of the Peace were eliminated; rural magistracy came to an end in England. The system was followed in Canada in the old days; but, it no longer exists (pity).

River Philip was the County Town in those early days as it was on the main traffic route between Halifax and New Brunswick.  It had a courthouse and court was held every Saturday and was presided over by four magistrates.  John Bragg, JP, Nelson Davidson, Squire Jackson and Edwin Johnson.  John Bragg was appointed by Samuel Tupper - a father of Confederation and a distant relative through marriage.

The first grantees on the west branch of River Philip were: Benjamin Syre in 1858; John Bragg in 1859; and Edward Sweet in 1863; and a Methodist Church was built in 1888, and this community was named Wyvern in 1890.

John Bragg's obituary from the Pugwash Times

Anglican Church at Oxford Junction

John died on April 1, 1884 at the age of 74 and Jane in December of the same year.  They were buried side by side in the little cemetery at Oxford Junction.  Most of their children and their families are buried there.  The cemetery and the little Anglican Church is now owned and maintained by John Bragg of Collingwood.

Tombstone inscription:

In Memory Of

John Bragg Esq.

Died April,1st. 1884

Aged 73 Yrs.

Our beloved father is gone.

He lays beneath the sod.

Dear parent though we miss you much.

We know you rest with God.

Grave of John Bragg - Old Anglican Church
Oxford Junction, Nova Scotia