1709 John Bishop, son of Eleazer Bishop, was born in New London, Connecticut. [1]
1722 "July 8th Eleazer Bishop and his wife had their children baptized, Peter, John, Samuel, Clement, Mary, Sarah" at the First Church of Christ, New London, Connecticut. [2] [3]
1731 On May 20, John Bishop married Rebecca Whipple at New London, Connecticut. [4] [5]
1741 Rebecca, wife of John Bishop was a member of the First Church of Christ, New London, Connecticut. [6]
1751 On 17 October, Rebecca Bishop died. [7] Joshua Hempstead mentioned her burial in his diary on October 20. [8]
Sund 20 fair in the morning but Thunder & Lightning & Rain in ye midle of the day. Mr adams pr all day. John Bishops wife buryed after meeting. aged near 50. She hath been Sick near 8 years. bed Ridden many years.
John Bishop married Mrs. Hannah (Allen) Comstock, widow of Gideon Comstock. [9]
1760 In June, John Bishop came with his four sons, John Jr, William, Peter, and Timothy, to Horton, "bringing with him provisions for a year, and enough stock to satisfy the demands of a good sized farm." John lived, as did his son Timothy, and his great-grandson Ebenezer, at Greenwich, on the property later occupied by his great grandson Edward Russell Bishop. His will, recorded in the Probate Office at Kentville, mentions a grist-mill he had erected on this place, the old mill-dam of which is still to be seen. [10]
A biosketch states, "John Bishop Sr, after the French were expelled from Nova Scotia, upon invitation of Governor Lawrence, was one of the colonists who took possession of the lands previously occupied by the French Canadians. Accordingly, many came from the British Colonies along the Atlantic shore to different parts of Nova Scotia, and John Bishop Sr was one of those men who came from Connecticut to Horton, Nova Scotia, with his four sons, about the year 1762." [11]
Minas Bay, Township of Horton: ...The first [English] immigrants and their effects were conveyed up the Bay of Fundy May 11, 1760 in the vessels Snow of Halifax, the brig Montague and fourteen transports...
Several of the settlers who had surveying experience helped surveyor Charles Morris lay out the lots in accordance with the terms of the grant. One of these was John Bishop of New London, who came with four sons, John Jr., William, Deacon Peter and Timothy, bringing with him provisions for a year and stock "to satisfy the demands of a large family." John Sr. was a Justice of the Peace and a Surveyor and it is said the plan of the town was prepared by him. A more detailed plan of Lower Horton is signed, John Bishop, Jr. Surveyor, so both father and son may have followed this occupation.
Laying out the township represented quite an achievement since one hundred thousand acres had to be divided into small parcels of land giving each settler his fair proportion of upland, meadow, improved and woodland. The township spread from the Pisiquid River on the east to the Aylesford Lake in the west, a distance of 15 miles or more, and still largely coverd with forests.
John Bishop, Sr., John Jr. and Peter had one share each in the grant. William and Timothy each had one half share. Major Charles Dixon received one and one half shares. [12]
1785 On 28 October, John Bishop died at Greenwich, Horton, Nova Scotia and was buried at Wolfville. [13]
[1] Arthur Wentworth Hamilton Eaton, The History of Kings County, Nova Scotia, Heart of the Acadian Land (Salem, Massachusetts: The Salem Press Company, 1910), 570, [GoogleBooks], [InternetArchive], [HathiTrust].
[2] S. Leroy Blake, The Later History of the First Church of Christ, New London, Conn. (New London: The Day Publishing Company, 1900), 484, [InternetArchive].
[3] FamilySearch.org, [FamilySearchRecord].
[4] Frederic William Bailey, Early Connecticut Marriages as Found on Ancient Church Records Prior to 1800, Book 2 (New Haven: Bureau of American Ancestry, 1896), 15, [InternetArchive].
[5] Arthur Wentworth Hamilton Eaton, The History of Kings County, Nova Scotia, Heart of the Acadian Land (Salem, Massachusetts: The Salem Press Company, 1910), 570, [GoogleBooks], [InternetArchive], [HathiTrust].
[6] A list of all those who are known to have been members of the First church of Christ, in New London, from the beginning to January 1, 1901, (New London, Connecticut: 1900), 7, [HathiTrust].
[7] Arthur Wentworth Hamilton Eaton, The History of Kings County, Nova Scotia, Heart of the Acadian Land (Salem, Massachusetts: The Salem Press Company, 1910), 570, [GoogleBooks], [InternetArchive], [HathiTrust].
[8] Diary of Joshua Hempstead of New London, Connecticut, 1711-1758 (Collections of the New London County Historical Society, Vol. 1, 1901), 577, [HathiTrust], [GoogleBooks].
[9] Arthur Wentworth Hamilton Eaton, The History of Kings County, Nova Scotia, Heart of the Acadian Land (Salem, Massachusetts: The Salem Press Company, 1910), 570, [GoogleBooks], [InternetArchive], [HathiTrust].
[10] Arthur Wentworth Hamilton Eaton, The History of Kings County, Nova Scotia, Heart of the Acadian Land (Salem, Massachusetts: The Salem Press Company, 1910), 570, [GoogleBooks], [InternetArchive], [HathiTrust].
[11] S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, The Biographical Record of De Kalb County, Illinois (1898), 46, [GoogleBooks].
[12] Douglas E. Eagles, A History of Horton Township, Kings County, Nova Scotia through Maps and Documents (Sarnia, Ontario, Canada: privately mimeographed. Wolfville: Acadia University Archives, 1975).
[13] Arthur Wentworth Hamilton Eaton, The History of Kings County, Nova Scotia, Heart of the Acadian Land (Salem, Massachusetts: The Salem Press Company, 1910), 570, [GoogleBooks], [InternetArchive], [HathiTrust].