The West Family

John West was one of the original land grantees of Liverpool. Born at Plymouth, Massachusetts on November 18, 1739 he was the son of Silas and Mary West. On March 25, 1762 at age twenty three he married Phebe Freeman, daughter of Elisha and Lydia Freeman in Liverpool. Phebe, a daughter of Elisha and Lydia Freeman, was born on January 21, 1742 in Rochester, Massachusetts.

On July 2, 1771 John West was commissioned First Lieutenant in the Queens County Militia and by 1778 he became a Captain. In 1776 he was licensed to keep a tavern in Liverpool. On November 30th, 1783 John West died at the age of forty four, leaving his wife Phebe and eight children.

John West and his house, which later became a tavern operated by his widow, are mentioned frequently in the diary of Simeon Perkins, the well-known diarist, merchant, militia colonel and privateer owner. Some excerpts from Perkins’s diary follow:

Monday, September 26, 1774 – A town meeting concerning the building of a meeting house, agreed to get it near John West’s on the western side of the street.

Tuesday, January 2, 1776 – John West and Jabez Cobb are licensed to keep a tavern.

Thursday, April 17, 1777 – An Auction at Mr. John West’s by Capt. Sterling of Halifax. Some candles, soap, oil, molasses, etc.

Wednesday, October 1, 1777 – Wind N and N.E. The Halifax Privateer, Capt. Lawson arrives. I saw the Captain and Mr. Solomon, officer of the Marines. Some Petty Officers and two men come ashore armed and insulted by some people. In particular Samuel Hunt Esq., who was holding a Justice’s Court at Mr. John West’s. He set two men at ye door, with pistols and went in with his cutlass and behaved very rude to the Justice etc.

Tuesday, November 25, 1777 – I sell a hhd. of rum to Mr. John West and one to Mr. Lee.

Thursday, June 4, 1779 – King George the Third Birthday. The Militia appear according to orders and make a very respectable appearance for the numbers and fired a very handsome volley of small arms at the point. Mr. Cheever gave us an excellent sermon, from Hebrews 11th 34, in the open field. We then marched to the point to join the Royal Salute, then marched back to Capt. West’s and dined. The officers of the King’s Orange Rangers, the Justices and Capt. Cobb dine with us.

Saturday, November 27, 1783 – Capt. John West is thought to be dying.

Tuesday, December 2, 1783 – Capt. John West is buried. He dyed Sunday morning or in the night before.

April 4, 1784 - He (Nathan Tupper, Esq. dropped dead by the Meeting House) was carried to Mrs. West’s and laid out.

April 17, 1784 - This evening an affray happened at Mrs. West’s between some of the jury and Mr. Grandine, a man that practices as an attorney, by permission, tho not licensed. He had a walking stick, with a sword in it, which he drew, and had very near run some of them thro the body. I had word of it, and sent Mr. Tinkham to go and keep the peace, which he did.

April 26, 1784 - I am invited to dine at Mrs. West’s, with a number of Rhode Island gentlemen, by William Johnston, Esq. There was Mr. Brenton, brother to Judge Brenton, of Halifax, one Capt. Cole, Capt. Brow, Capt. Hall, all of Rhode Island.

January 7, 1785 - I administer the Oaths of allegiance, and oaths of Office to William Freeman, Esq., a Justice of the Peace for this county, at Mrs. West’s. The Magistrates, Sheriff and Clerk [are] all present.

April 23, 1786 - Mr. Justice Thomas issues a warrant to apprehend Andrew Belfour. We have him examined at Mrs. West’s. (This incident is described by T.B Smith in his information related to Donald Shaw. It relates to the theft of goods from Perkins’s storehouse).

Friday, November 17, 1797 – The Justices meet a committee of the Grand Jury at Mrs. West’s to confer on the subject of building the Courthouse between the Meeting House and Mrs. West’s, adjoining the Parade.

There are many references of meetings held at the West’s between 1776 and 1800, including meetings of Magistrates, Militia Officers, Township Proprietors, church congregations, privateer ship owners and officers, and “Principle Inhabitants”. At the West’s, the Court regularly dined and criminal suspects were examined.

The West Family’s Connections to Privateering

Dan Conlin, in his 1998 paper Privateering Entrepot: Commercial Militarization in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, 1793 – 1805 discusses “Mrs. West’s” tavern as a commercial operation that benefited from privateering: “Another example was Phoebe West, who operated one of Liverpool's three leading taverns, an establishment that flourished during the privateering boom. "Mrs. West's" seems to have been the preferred location for regular meetings and dinners held by privateer owners and officers. It was also a prime location for recruiting drives. Phoebe West was well integrated into the world of privateering through her family: her eldest daughter married the famous privateer captain, Alexander Godfrey, and her brother-in-law served on the Wentworth.
“Phoebe West opened the tavern with her husband, John, and continued to operate it after his death in 1783. It appears to have been a "middle of the road" establishment, not as fancy as Mr. Phillips', where the Governor dined on visits, but not implicated in the rowdy drinking common at other taverns.”

The Alexander Godfrey mentioned above was born in Chatham, Massachusetts and in 1791 married Phoebe West, daughter of John and Phebe West. Godfrey was commander of the privateer Rover that was built near Liverpool, Nova Scotia and launched in 1800. Rover was owned by a group of Liverpool merchants led by Simeon Perkins and Snow Parker. Under Godfrey’s command, Rover was known for several battles in the Napoleonic Wars including a single-handed attack on a French convoy. But Rover is most famous for a battle off the coast of South America with the Spanish naval schooner, Santa Rita, and three accompanying gunboats. Rover captured Santa Rita and two gunboats, totaling a crew of 125. Rover did not lose a single man of its crew of 55. Godfrey was celebrated in the British Naval Chronicle and offered a commission in the Royal Navy but declined. He died of yellow fever in Jamaica in 1803. (http://www.enotes.com/topic/Rover_(privateering_ship))

A military connection, though not directly related to privateering, is Captain John Howard of the King’s Orange Rangers. Captain Howard's Company came to Liverpool from the American States at the request of the people of Liverpool. Since 1776, American privateers had been harassing the town and stealing property. On April 14, 1782 Captain Howard married John and Phebe West’s daughter Mariah who was born in Liverpool on December 23, 1765. In 1996 a reenactment group was formed in Liverpool to portray the King’s Orange Rangers. This group is very visible at local events and reenactment activities throughout the region.

Owen Family

To date, all information related to the Owen Family has been gleaned from archival records at the Queens County Museum. No information regarding Freeman Owen has been found with the exception of his marriage and dead dates, and the fact that he was a sea captain who died while on a sailing trip later in his life. With the given name of “Freeman”, there is a good chance that he had a connection to the Freeman families of Liverpool who were among the founders of the settlement.

As with Freeman Owen, only basic information about Mary Owen has been found to date. Mary Owen was born Mary Cole Slocombe and has a genealogy that includes many founding families of the Liverpool settlement. Each of Mary Owen’s male ancestors is mentioned in Perkins’s Diary and was involved in the development of the Liverpool settlement in the late 18th century.