The Keillors and Truemans had been friends in England, and were related in some degree.Elizabeth Keillor was but nineteen when she consented to take charge of a home of her own, and, as subsequent years proved, well did she discharge the duties that devolved upon her in that relationship.Though below medium size, she had a nervous force and will-power that enabled her to accomplish more than many of stronger build.It is told of her that on a Sabbath, when the family were all at church, she noticed something wrong with the cattle, and on going to see what caused the trouble, she found a cow so badly injured by some of the larger animals, that to make the carcass of any value it would have to be slaughtered at once.Mrs.Trueman went to the house, got the butcher-knife, and bled the cow to death.
Nervous force, like any other force in man or woman, has its limit, and if used too fast it will not be there when wanted in old age.Mrs.
Trueman did not live to be very old, and her last years were full of suffering.Overtaxed nature had given way, and the penalty had to be paid.
The family never separated, but all moved into the house on the Scurr farm, and began in earnest to face the battle of life in the New World.
Halifax was at that time the market for butter and beef, so after the wants of the settlers and the commissariat at Fort Cumberland had been supplied, such produce as could be sent by schooners to Halifax was forwarded in that way, and the cattle, for beef, were driven overland--a long and tedious journey.
Mills for sawing lumber or making flour were scarce.The stones are yet to be seen in Sackville with which grain was ground by hand-power.
The Truemans soon began to experiment in mill building.Their first venture was a mill driven by horse-power.A windmill followed, and was located on the high ground at the corner where the Point de Bute road turns at right angles, leading to Jolicure.This must have been an ideal spot for such a structure.There is no record of how long this mill stood, but it could not have been long.
There was a good stream on the farm for a water-mill, but it was not utilized for this purpose for some years, probably for the want of means.Their first work in this line was the building of a small mill on the brook that formed the ravine at the south-west side of the farm.
A dam was thrown across the stream at the head of the ravine, and the water carried in a flume some distance farther down the brook; the great fall of water enabling them to use a large over-shot water-wheel.
It is only quite recently that the main shaft of the wheel has disappeared.
A long dam was built across the stream that leads to what is now called the Upper Mill, for the purpose of turning the water to the new mill, and also forming a reserve pond.This dam can be plainly seen at the present time, although covered with quite a growth of timber.The mill in the ravine did not stand long either, and the next move was to dam the water on the main brook, now called the Trueman Mill Stream, and put up a large and substantial grist-mill, that proved a great convenience to the whole country for many years.
Beside this large expenditure in mills, most of which was made in the lifetime of the senior William, there was a large outlay made for dyking and aboideau building.Piece by piece the marsh was being reclaimed from the tide and made to yield its wealth of hay and pasture for the support of flocks and herds.
I find a record showing there were seventeen cows on the farm in 1790, and for the benefit of some of the members of the younger generation who live on farms, here are their names: Cerloo, Red-heifer, Spotty, Debro, Beauty, Madge, Lucy, Daisy, White-face, Mousie, Dun, Rose, Lady Cherry, Black-eye, Spunk and Roan.
The following letter, received at Prospect in 1789, tells of a more cheerful spirit in business in England, but shows that they had floods and troubles of that kind then as now:
"HELM HOUSE BILSDALE, Augt.ye 15th, 1789.
"DEAR COUSINS,--
"I received two letters from you in the course of the last year, and am exceeding glad to hear from you and that you do well and are well, and tho I have long delayed writing yet it is not want of respect, but it was long before I could have any certain inteligence from Mr.Swinburn, So I now take the oppertunity to let you know how I and my Sisters are situate.I married Helling the daughter of Richard Barr, by whom I have had 3 boys and 2 girls all liveing and healthfull.Aylsy is married to John the son of James Boyes and lives at Woolhousecroft, has no children.Sally is married to John Cossins and lives at Hawnby where Robt.Barker lived.She has 3 children the two last were twins they were born about Candlemas last and one of them is a very weakly child, my mother is married to old Rich'd Barr my wife's father and lives at Huntington nigh York.I think we most of us live pretty well.Mr.-----has advanced his land a great deal but since the peace the times are pretty good we have this summer a very plentiful crop and we have a fine season for Reaping the same, but in the beginning of haytime we had an excessive flood as almost ever was known so that much hay was swept away and much more sanded.Many bridges were washed down and in some places much chattle drowned.My cousin John Garbut is married to James Boyes' widow and lives at Helm house.So I shall conclude with my and my wife's duty to my unkle and aunt and our kind love to you and your wife and children and subscribe ourselves your very affectionate cousins, "JOHN AND HELLING TRUEMAN."There was no break in the family by death until 1797.That year William Trueman, sen., died, aged seventy-seven years, twenty-two of which he had spent in America.The Mauger farm, his first purchase, was left to Harmon, his eldest grandson.The family of his son William had grown by this time to six sons and two daughters, and success financially, in some measure at least, had been achieved.
