Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Family Villain - James Archibald - Hanged in 1815

All families have their heroes and villains and I've devoted many blog posts to some of our more dashing and heroic relatives.  Today, I will talk about James Archibald who was hung for murder on the Halifax Common in 1815.

James was born into the prolific Archibald clan who came to Nova Scotia from New Hampshire prior to the American Revolution.  His father, David, himself refused to sign the oath of allegiance to the English King. He still had family in the United States and his loyalties was divided.  This refusal could have seen him arrested and charged with treason had officials not had enough to do battling American Privateers and trying to establish sound government in this new land.

James was born in 1787 in Truro Township and lived on the family farm at Salmon River.  In 1811 he married Sarah McCurdy and the couple had two sons, James Jr. and David.  James was described as a large man with a dour outlook and over the years there had been whispers about his many misdeeds.  There was the story of a peddler who called at the farm, supposedly carrying quite a sum of money, who disappeared never to be seen again.  Neighbours speculated over James' part in this disappearance.

In 1813, James was introduced to the Privateer, Captain Benjamin Ellenwood.  With the War of 1812 in full swing, the captain had gained a reputation of one of the most successful Privateers on the Saint Lawrence River and in the Bay of Fundy.  During a visit with the Captain and his wife Epiphene, James Archibald made arrangements to purchase a major share in one of the Captain's schooners.  Mrs. Ellenwood took an instant dislike to the dressy man who obviously lived beyond his means.  He warned her husband to have nothing to do with Archibald, but the Captain decided to proceed with the sale of the schooner.

One evening shortly after the deal was completed, James Archibald crept aboard the vessel and killed the Captain with a marlin spike.  Immediately, all eyes were on a young Portuguese boy who worked for Ellenwood, but soon suspicion turned to Archibald.

James Archibald was arrested and taken to Halifax for trial before Chief Justice Blowers in the Easter sessions of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. After his conviction, he admitted to a great many robberies - most of which were trifling but made for wonderful reading in the local newspaper.

On May 1, 1815, James Archibald was taken to the Halifax common and hanged by the neck until he was dead.

The following year, his wife, Sarah married Captain Henry Cumminger of Truro and the two lived many happy years in Sherbrooke, Guysborough County, Nova Scotia.

2 comments:

  1. I have had several Archibald descendants contact me through my blog. Do you know "The Hoyt Family" genealogy blog. She is an Archibald descendant, too. http://www.la-famille.mardistudio.com/blog/

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  2. What a fascinating story, so glad that Heather passed the link to me (thank you Heather!).

    James would be my 2nd cousin 5x removed.

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