Virtual Hike to Sackville, New Brunswick

The next destination on my Virtual Hike was Sackville, New Brunswick.

Sackville New Brunswick, Canada, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Virtual Hike, AncestorsThe previous destination on my virtual hike was to Avonlea Village, Prince Edward Island.

Sackville New Brunswick, Canada, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Virtual Hike, AncestorsTo get to Sackville, I first had to make my way back across Prince Edward Island to catch the ferry to Caribou. You may have noticed in the map that I did not cross the PEI Bridge. It would have made for a much shorter hike, but you cannot walk across the bridge.

According to my Virtual Hike rules, I had to take the ferry again 🙂

Sackville New Brunswick, Canada, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Virtual Hike, AncestorsFrom the ferry terminal at Caribou I then hiked across Nova Scotia near to the north shore. Following on Google Maps, it had some beautiful views.

Sackville New Brunswick, Canada, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Virtual Hike, AncestorsAs I entered New Brunswick, Google Maps took me down some unpaved country roads. It even took me through a covered bridge.

Sackville New Brunswick, Canada, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Virtual Hike, AncestorsI finally made it into Sackville. If I was physically taking this hike I probably would have headed to the library to do some research on local history.

The reason I chose Sackville as a stop on the Virtual Hike is that my 7th great-grandfather, Dr. John Jenks, had at one time lived in the area.

Dr. John Jenks attended the first town meeting of Sackville, New Brunswick in 1762. Dr. Jenks was part of a group of settlers know as the New England Planters.

Due to the expulsion of the Acadians from New Brunswick in the 1750’s there was a lot of land available there. Many New Englanders moved north to New Brunswick to take advantage of the vacant land. Dr. Jenks moved to Sackville along with a group of settlers from Smithfield, Rhode Island.

The Jenks family did not live in Sackville for long as they were back in New England before the Revolutionary War started.

A grand-daughter of Dr. John Jenks married Joseph Braman, so that is how they fit into my family tree.

I am still determining the next stop on the Virtual Hike. I am thinking about setting shorter distances between stops for better motivation for my daily walking.

My current plan is to make my way toward northern New York through Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Perhaps I can find some interesting stops along the way.

Steven

Images in this post are from Google Maps and Street View.

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Helping Build West Point

Today I have been doing some research on one of my ancestors.

My 4th great-grandfather Adolphus Van Duzer served in the Revolutionary War.

Hudson Valley, West Point, Cornwal, Fort Putnam, Revolutionary WarAdolphus was born in 1762, so he was just a teenager when the Revolutionary War took place.

Hudson Valley, West Point, Cornwal, Fort Putnam, Revolutionary WarHis first action took place at Fort Montgomery. From what I can find it would have been mainly helping construct the fort starting on July 1st for month and a half. He would have been back home before the battle of Fort Montgomery on October 6, 1777.

Hudson Valley, West Point, Cornwal, Fort Putnam, Revolutionary WarFort Montgomery was just south of West Point, and was abandoned soon after the battle in favor of the more strategic location to the north.

Hudson Valley, West Point, Cornwal, Fort Putnam, Revolutionary WarThe Van Duzer family lived in Cornwall, which was less than 10 miles from West Point.

Hudson Valley, West Point, Cornwal, Fort Putnam, Revolutionary WarIt was not long before Adolphus was back in the army. In 1778 in May and June he was helping construct Fort Put (Putnam) which overlooked the Hudson at West Point.

In 1779 to 1781 he worked in other areas of the West Point fortifications for several months at a time.

It is interesting to think that in 1780 he was working there at the time of Benedict Arnold’s treason. I will have to do some more research to see how close he was to the events that transpired. It is known that British Major John André was held in Fort Putnam after his capture.

Since 1778 West Point has been continuously occupied by the military, the longest of any military post in the US. It is nice to look back to the role my ancestor played in the beginning of West Point.

Steven

 

 

 

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