Our Trailblazing Ancestors - Part 1

Since the middle of the 18th century, our ancestors have left their homelands and travelled to live in Canada. After some 30 years of research and more that 30,000 descendants recorded, I thought it might be interesting to look at the the Trailblazers in our family.  What follows is part one of our historical beginnings in this county.  So put on your favourite bagpipe music, sip a cup of tea and enjoy..

Emanuel Bragg (1760) and Mary Woodland(1769) Somersetshire, England


Emanuel Bragg & Mary Woodland
  John Bragg & Jane Rogers
    Charles Bragg & Matilda Swallow
      John Thomas Bragg & Julia West Gamble
        Russell Mackie Bragg & Dorothy M. Harrigan
          Me

Last resting place of Emanual and
Mary Woodland Bragg - Chaffcombe,
Somerset, England

Emanuel and Mary came from Chaffecombe, Somersetshire, England.  Emanuel was a boot maker in the village of Chard which is quite close to Taunton.  They married on October 25, 1793 and had six children; William, Thomas, Emanuel, 2 Sarahs’ , Amy and John. 

John Bragg (1810-1884) and Jane Rogers (1809-1894)

Grave of John Bragg

 John Bragg & Jane Rogers
    Charles Bragg & Matilda Swallow
      John Thomas Bragg & Julia West Gamble
        Russell Mackie Bragg & Dorothy M. Harrigan
          Me


John, the youngest son  of  Emanuel Bragg and Mary Woodland apprenticed as a blacksmith where he learned to read and write in the dust on his anvil.  He went to sea as a young man.  Arriving at Pugwash, he planted his feet on Nova Scotia soil and established the roots of our great family in Canada.  John was a successful farmer and lumberman and went on to serve as Justice of the Peace.  In 1838, he met the sister of his neighbour, Jane Rogers from Lutes Mountain, New Brunswick, and the two raised seven children at their Windham Hill farm.  A great believer in Education, he established the first school in the area in his home and invited neighbouring children to attend.  John was the inspiration for one of the characters in the humorous book, “Sam Slick the Clockmaker” by Thomas Chandler Haliburton.  His tombstone reads:

Our beloved father is gone

He lays beneath the sod.

Dear parent though we miss you much

We know you rest with God.

John and Jane’s eldest son, Charles was the father of our grandfather, John Thomas Bragg.

Robert F. Gamble (1790-1838) and Martha Smith Beattie (1790-1845)

Robert F. Gamble & Martha (Mattie) Beattie
  John Gamble & Esther Cook
    John William Gamble & Flora Ann Campbell Beattie
      Julia West Gamble & John Thomas Bragg
        Russell Mackie Bragg & Dorothy M. Harrigan
          Me

Robert was born in Londonderry, Northern Ireland.  In 1819, he and his wife, Martha Smith Beattie and their infant son, John sailed for Canada with a group of neighbours and relatives.  Unfortunately, the ship they took was bound for Quebec City, not Nova Scotia and the group had to raise money to take them to their ultimate destination.  Finally, they settled in Castlereagh, near the Bay of Fundy and founded a thriving little village where everyone was related. Robert’s great granddaughter was our grandmother, Julia Gamble Bragg.

Thomas Swallow (1790-1863) and Hannah Teed (1794-1881)


Thomas Swallow & Hannah Teed
  Matilda Swallow & Charles Bragg
    John Thomas Bragg & Julia West Gamble
      Russell Mackie Bragg & Dorothy M. Harrigan
        Me

Swallow homestead, Swallow Hill
Nova Scotia

Thomas Swallow (if that really was his name) was wanted by the law when he jumped ship at Wallace Bay in 1818.  His was a deserter from the British Navy , obviously seeing brighter prospects for himself in this new land.  Speculation has it that his real name was Thomas Cheeseman and that he was born in Hull, Yorkshire – and changing his name was his way of making a fresh start. In 1830, he applied for, and received a grant of land that was to become known as Swallow Hill near Wentworth, Nova Scotia.  He promptly married a lovely village lass, named Hannah Teed.  They raised a family of eleven children including their youngest daughter, Matilda – who was our great great grandmother and wife of Charles Bragg.

Alexander Peers (1745-1816) and Mary Bolding (1745-1808)

Alexander Peers & Mary Bolding

  Jerusha Peers & Daniel Teed

    Hannah Teed & Thomas Swallow

     Matilda Swallow & Charles Bragg

         John Thomas Bragg & Julia West Gamble

           Russell Mackie Bragg & Dorothy M. Harrigan

               Me

Graves of Alexander Peers and
Mary Bolding
Old Dotten Cemetery
Wallace Bay, Nova Scotia

Alexander  is believed to have been born in Oxford, England and came to New York in 1765 where he took up farming on the Philipse Patent on Long Island.  He married a southern belle, Mary Bolding the following year.  The two had seven children, including Jerusha who was the grandmother of Matilda Swallow Bragg.  In 1776, Alexander refused to join the American Patriots in defeating the British.  Fearful for their safety, Alexander and Mary fled behind British lines to Morrisania, New York , leaving all their possessions behind and having to live in appalling conditions in the British Camp.  By 1783, their lives were again put in danger as the Revolutionary War ended.  Alexander had been a private in the Westchester Refugees battalion under the command of Col. James DeLancey and there was a price on his head.  With nothing but the clothes on their backs, they boarded a ship, The Nancy and headed for Canada.  After a few harsh years, Alexander and Mary established  a thriving farm at Wallace Bay.

John Campbell (1733-1803) and Mary Scott (1741-1803)

John Campbell & Mary Scott
  James Charles Campbell & Margaret Moore
    John Scott Campbell & Janet Chisholm
      John William Campbell & Sarah Simmonds
        Flora Ann Campbell Beattie & John William Gamble

          Julia West Gamble & John Thomas Bragg
            Russell Mackie Bragg & Dorothy M. Harrigan
              Me

Grave of Esther Cook Gamble
Castlereagh Pioneer
Cemetery
Castlereagh, Nova Scotia

John and Mary were both born in Scotland and emigrated to County Meath, Ireland in about 1770.  John is believed to be descended from the Dukes of Argyll but I’ll have to do a bit of digging to verify that fact.  In 1774, the two moved again – this time to the area around Clifton, in Colchester County, Nova Scotia along with his brother, James’ family.  The couple raised 8 children, five of whom were born in Ireland.  Their daughter, Leah, married William Cook, the grandfather of Esther Cook Gamble.

John Rogers (1827-1809) and Elizabeth Spencer (1728-1872)

John Rogers & Elizabeth Spencer

  James Rogers & Rachel Johnson

    Jane Rogers & John Bragg

       Charles Bragg & Matilda Swallow

          John Thomas Bragg & Julia West Gamble

             Russell Mackie Bragg & Dorothy M. Harrigan

                Me

John Rogers was born in Londonderry, Northern Ireland and married Elizabeth Spencer there in 1753.  The pair had six children, including James Rogers who was the father of Jane Rogers Bragg.  The family emigrated to Nova Scotia in 1761 as part of the Ulster Scott Plantation sponsored by Alexander McNutt.  They settled in the pretty place called Great Village on the shores of the Bay of Fundy.  In addition to farming, John owned a share in a sailing schooner, “The Betsy”.  Township census records attest to the progress of life on the 1,000 acre farm.  John and Elizabeth were both buried in the historic Ishonish  Marsh Burying Ground in Belmont, Nova Scotia.

Donald Chisholm (1752-1810) and Elizabeth McGrath (1746-1782)

Donald Chisholm & Elizabeth McGrath

  John Chisholm & Isabella McLellan

    Janet Chisholm & John Scott Campbell

      John William Campbell & Sarah Simmonds

        Flora Ann Campbell Beattie & John William Gamble

          Julia West Gamble & John Thomas Bragg

            Russell Mackie Bragg & Dorothy M. Harrigan

              Me

Flora Ann Beattie Gamble
mother of
Julia Gamble Bragg

Donald Chisholm came from Strathglass, Inverness County, Scotland.  At the age of 20, he married a local young lady, Eizabeth McGrath.  In 1775, with a party of forty other young men and women, they sailed for Canada aboard the ship “Glasgow”.   Donald was likely a member of the 84^th Regiment, Royal Highland Emigrants who were promised land in return for service to the British during the Revolutionary War.  The family was made up of four children, John, Alexander, William and Mary.  Son John married Isabella McLellan and the two were great grandparents of our great grandmother, Flora Ann Beattie Gamble – mother of Julia Gamble Bragg.