Yorkshire Immigration Plaque

Cairn with historical plaque within grounds of
Fort Beauséjour/Fort Cumberland
National Historic Site.  
YORKSHIRE IMMIGRATION
1772-1776
In 1769-70 Lieutenant Governor Michael Franklin went to north Yorkshire, England to seek immigrants for Nova Scotia (which at that time included the later New Brunswick). He especially had in mind the strategically important isthmus of Chignecto. Many of the New England Planters who had moved to the region following the deportaion of the Acadians in 1755 were giving up and moving back south. Franklin’s efforts prompted the “Yorkshire Immigration” of 1772-75 when over 1000 settlers left Yorkshire to settle in the area. In contrast to the New England Planters, the immigrants from Yorkshire were mostly tenant farmers in Yorkshire and crossed the Atlantic “in order to seek a better livelihood”. For the most part these Yorkshire settlers did not receive grants from the government, but came with enough money to purchase their lands from New England Planters who were leaving their lands.
YORKSHIRE IMMIGRATION
LES IMMIGRANTS DU YORKSHIRE

Between 1772 and 1776 many settlers came to Chignecto from Yorkshire, England, owing to the efforts of Lieutenant Governor Michael Francklin. During the American Revolutionary War their loyal support of the authorities helped to quell the Eddy Rebellion of 1776. Their descendants have been prominent in the development of the country.Entre 1772 et 1776, de nombreux immigrants du Yorkshire (Angleterre) sont arrivés à Chignecto grâce aux efforts du lieutenant-gouverneur Michael Franklin. Au cours de la guerre d’indépendence américaine leur fidelité à l’autorité contribua à étouffer la rebellion menée par Jonathan Eddy en 1776. Depuis lors leurs descendants ont joué un rôle important dans le développement du pays.

Marker placed by Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, in 1927. 

 
There are numerous resources relating to the Yorkshire Immigration.

Bogaard, Paul, Ed., Yorkshire Immigrants to Atlantic Canada – Papers from the “Yorkshire 2000” Conference (Sackville, N.B.: Tantramar Heritage Trust, 2012).

Smith, Al, “Signposts Along Tantramar’s Past – Yorkshire Settlement,” Sackville Tribune-Post, 9 September1998.

Hamilton, Bill, “The Yorkshire Imprint on the Tantramar,” Sackville Tribune-Post, Parts I and II, 11 August 1999.

Hamilton, Bill, “Great Impact Of The Yorkshire Migration,” Sackville Tribune-Post, 2 August 2000.

See also, Milner, W.C., History of Sackville New Brunswick (Sackville, N.B.: The Tribune Press, 1934), pp. 27-31.

Snowdon, James D., Footprints in the Marsh Mud: Politics and Land Settlement in the Township of Sackville 1760-1800 (M.A. thesis, University of New Brunswick, 1974; reprinted, Tantramar Heritage Trust, 2000), pp.50-61.

Among the resources produced in connection with the Yorkshire 2000 celebration, see

Schmeisser, Barbara M., Yorkshire Immigrants in Search of a Better Life (Fort Beauséjour National Historic Park: Parks Canada, 2000);

De Gannes, RenÈe, Yorkshire Immigration (1772-1775), Bibliography: Selected Sources on Early European Settlement in the Chignecto Region. (Sackville, N.B.: Tantramar Heritage Trust, 2000);

Coates, Genie, Don Chapman, and Margaret Moorehead, Our Heritage – Yorkshire 2000: A Teacher Resource Package For Heritage Study (Sackville, N.B.: Tantramar Heritage Trust).

Tantramar Heritage Trust | Historic Sites