The Pagan Family of Canada
I'm sorry to say I'm not going to win any writing awards for this one. The truth is that other people have written about these people in piece-meal, and they have already done a good job. I just wanted a place to tie them together and look at their story as a whole instead of all the individual biographies found across several books and websites.
Thomas Pagan, merchant of Glasgow, who left a will in 1689 named his children as David, Mary and John. He may have been married three times, once to Agnes Charters and second to Helen Kirkpatrick or Kilpatrick and third to Margaret Strang. His will is written in Secretary Hand so it's above my skill level. He named other Pagan's in the will that were obviously close relatives and what looks like Anna and David Kirpatrick children of John Kirpatrick. If anyone out there can make out this will send me a message from the link at the bottom of this page.
Thomas Pagan was admitted to the Burgess on August 24, 1671
| merchant, Burgess and Guild Brother, by purchase |
Thomas Pagan married Agnes Charters on November 23, 1671. A son named John was baptized on September 4, 1670 and a son named Thomas was baptized on October 6, 1673. There may have been a child that was born and died between them because Thomas purchased a plot on the High Church Old Burial Ground. There is a wall slab in the old section that reads:
"This is the Place appoynted for the Buriall of Thomas Pagan, Marchand, his Wyfe and Children, 1672"
There are no more baptisms for Thomas and Agnes.
The next baptism is for Thomas Pagan and Hellen Kirpatrick, another son named Thomas baptized on November 26, 1674 followed by a daughter Mary baptized on September 11, 1676.
The next baptism is the Glasgow area for a Thomas Pagan is for a son named David who was baptized June 26, 1692 to Thomas Pegin and Margaret Strang.
The parish registers for that time period are clearly incomplete so without further research we can't say if these are all the same Thomas Pagan. If they are the same man, then the David Pagan baptized in 1692 had to be baptized years after his birth. The David Pagan I am writing about today was likely born by 1684 because he was admitted to Burgess in 1706 and definitely before 1689 because that is the date of the will.
Anyway...................................
The other sons of Thomas Pagan must have died prior to 1706 because David Pagan was admitted to the burgess in 1706 as follows:
| merchant, Burgess and Guild Brother, as only l. son to Thomas P., merchant, Burgess and Guild Brother |
(The Will of Thomas Pagane 1689)
Someone on RootChat was kind enough to transcribe the will.
see the bottom of the page.
**David Pagan was likely born between 1678-1684. The estimate of 1684 is based on his admittance to Burgess in 1706**
David Pagan (c1684-1749) a Glasgow merchant married Janet Baxter (1690-1718) on February 16, 1711. They had the following children:
1. Thomas Pagan born Dec 9, 1711 died November 9, 1730 Old Burial Ground Glasgow Cathedral
2. William Pagan born April 23, 1713 (married Margaret Maxwell)
3. Janet Pagan born March 1, 1715
4. David Pagan born August 1, 1717 and died September 30, 1717 Old Burial Ground GC
5. John Pagan born October 5, 1718 and died 1795 (married Mary Donald)
David Married 2nd Elizabeth Miller on April 18, 1728
David Pagan died in January 1749. He was buried on January 7, 1749 in the Old Burying Ground at Glasgow Cathedral. His son William was admitted to the Burgess on May 2, 1754. The transcript is as follows:
| Merchant, Burgess and Guild Brother, as eldest lawful son to the deceased David P, merchant, Burgess and Guild Brother |
His son John was admitted on the same day:
| Merchant, Burgess and Guild Brother, as second. lawful son to the deceased David P, merchant, Burgess and Guild Brother |
**A George Pagan is mentioned in one of the Canadian biographies as a son of David. This may have been an error based on a land grant that divides land to William, Robert and George. The land grant was granted after 1804 and their brother Thomas had died and therefore the George on the grant was the son of Thomas not another brother of William and Robert. There was a George Pagan, merchant in Glasgow who is in Arlington Va Chancery Records. This would put him in the Alexandria Va area at the right time period and probably makes him a close relative**
(More on George Pagan later)
David Pagan died before January 7, 1749. His estate was administered on May 10, 1769 by his ONLY sons William Pagan, sugar maker of Glasgow and John Pagan of Greenock. His estate mentions the property of his last wife Elizabeth Miller. It seems strange to me that his estate wasn't administered for so long. He was buried at Glasgow Cathedral Old Burial Ground and his wife Elizabeth was buried there on January 4, 1754.
John Pagan, son of David, traveled to Virginia around 1739. It seems that he was trying to establish his mercantile business in Colonial America. He first settled around Dumfries, Prince William County, Virginia but soon traveled up the bay where he founded the town of Alexandria Virginia. On March 13, 1750 he bought land on Hunting Creek, one of five parcels of land he bought in the Northern Neck of Virginia.
**According to research on these land transactions this John Pagan is the same one that operated out of Annapolis Maryland during this same time period**
On March 8, 1753, John Kirkpatrick and Robert Adam, acting as his attorneys sold his tract on Hunting Creek because John had gone back to Glasgow. He continued his businesses on the American side from Glasgow, then later from Greenock. The images below show that he also shipped to Philadelpha and New York.
John Pagan went back to Glasgow and married Mary Donald (1734-1795) on April 16, 1758. Their children:
1. David Pagan born 1760 and died 1786 in Petersburg Virginia (unmarried without issue)
2. Robert Pagan born October 9, 1762 died December 3, 1813 (married Margaret Patterson)
3. Janet Pagan born June 29, 1764 (married Patrick Clark)
4. Christian Pagan born June 29, 1764
5. Mary Pagan born November 23, 1766 died May 13, 1850 (married Peter Ferguson)
7. Catherine born c1767 (married Daniel Campbell)
6. Thomas Pagan born July 8, 1769
7. John Pagan born August 1, 1771 died July 25, 1803 (married Mary Ann Russell)
8. Margaret Pagan born January 25, 1774
I don't have a complete record of what happened to all the children born of John and Mary but I know that by 1811 only four were still living because they are listed as heirs of the "Philadelphia Grant". Those heirs were: Robert, Janet, Catherine, and Mary.
**John Pagan (1718-c1795) probably died in Greenock Scotland. There are no existing death or burial records for Greenock between 1752-1855.**
**John Pagan 1771-1803 is not 100% proven yet but based on all the evidence he is almost certainly the son of John Pagan and Mary Donald. He lived in the Northern Neck area of Virginia where the elder John had owned several tracts of land. He was a merchant and owned a shipping business just like the others. He was listed as being in Nova Scotia on his daughter's baptism in 1798 which was where his brothers Robert and Thomas were living and also the year the elder John Pagan of Greenock likely died. I hope to add more information concerning this is the near future.**
In 1765 the Philadelphia Company of Pennsylvania was created, and fifteen men were granted 200,000 acres of land in Nova Scotia. This is more commonly known as the "Philadelphia Grant". John Pagan, son of David, purchased 12, 857 acres of the Philadelpha Grant. His nephew William and a man named John Witherspoon also purchased 12, 857 acres.
William Pagan, son of David and brother to John was born on April 23, 1713 and died on September 9, 1780. On November 12, 1738 he married Margaret Maxwell (1735-1802) Their Children:
1. Robert Pagan born October 4, 1739 died in infancy on February 27, 1745
2. Agnes Pagan born November 7, 1740 and died January 19, 1741 in infancy
3. David Pagan born December 15, 1741 and died November 20, 1764 in Glasgow
4. Janet Pagan born February 14, 1743 died unmarried January 2, 1824 in Glasgow
5. William Pagan born 1744 and died unmarried on March 12, 1819 in St John, NB, Canada
6. Mary Pagan born 1746 and died in infancy on March 15, 1746
7. Margaret Pagan born April 8, 1747 and died in infancy June 13, 1748
8. Margaret Pagan born September 11, 1748 and died in infancy December 12, 1751
9. Robert Pagan born November 16, 1750 and died November 23 1821 in St Andrews, NB, Canada
10. Agnes Pagan born January 15, 1752 and died unmarried April 12, 1821 in Glasgow
11. John Pagan born June 8, 1753 died in infancy August 9, 1753
12. John Pagan born March 2, 1755 and died October 8, 1799 in Quebec (married Sarah Martin)
13. Thomas Pagan born November 4, 1756 and died February 1, 1804 in Scotland
14. Maxwell Pagan (daughter) born March 5, 1758 and died unmarried June 6, 1824
**Thomas Pagan owned land in Richibucto, NB, Canada but he had gone back to Scotland because of his failing health and died there. His bother William administered his estate. He was married but not much is known about his wife. She died at their son George Pagan's home in 1835 and her name on the obituary is just given as Mrs. M Babcock.
**This seems to be a complete list of the children of William and Margaret, due in large part to a division of estate concerning the last surviving children Maxwell and Janet in 1823.**
(More on this family later)
John Pagan (son of David) was the owner of a bark called The Hector that he used in 1770 to bring Scottish immigrants to Boston Massachusetts. He once again recruited his fellow Scots to leave home with the promise of land, and a year's provisions. On September 15, 1773 The Hector arrived in Pictou carrying one hundred and eighty Scots.
William Pagan, son of David, was a merchant and sugar refiner in Glasgow. He chose to stay in Glasgow, but his four sons went to America. His son William Pagan went to New York and established trade between Glasgow, New York and the West Indies for sugar and rum. This was probably very beneficial to his father's sugar business. He was admitted as a freeman of New York City in 1769.
Robert Pagan, son of the above-mentioned William Pagan, sugar refiner, moved to Falmouth Massachusetts in 1769. He was joined there in due time by his brothers Thomas and John. Falmouth is present day Portland.
Then came the burning of Falmouth and the start of the War of Independence. On October 16, 1775, Capt. Mowat (British) arrived in the harbor of Falmouth and gave the inhabitants two hours to evacuate. The town consisted of twenty-five dwelling houses and almost as many other buildings. The townspeople appointed Gen Preble, Dr Coffin and John Pagan to be their representatives and find out why. Capt. Mowat told them that his orders were to burn, sink and destroy without warning but he decided to give them the opportunity to turn in their ammunition and arms he would spare them. They declined the offer and on October 18th he proceeded to open fire destroying the town.
After the burning of Falmouth, the brothers moved first to Barbados then back up to Penobscot Maine where they were living and doing business under the moniker "Robert Pagan and Company". It was during this time in 1780 that Thomas Pagan got into some trouble and was accused by the U.S. of privateering. The brothers were staunch Loyalists, so it was likely true.
To Thomas Jefferson from George Hammond, 26 November 1791 (archives.gov)
Here are some letters from Robert Pagan to his wife Miriam Pote Pagan on the move from Falmouth Maine to Penobscot Maine. These were taken from the book "The Diverting History of a Loyalist Town" by Grace Helen Mowat 1932.
“Parting letter from my dear Mrs. Pagan— inclosing some of her lovely hair.”
My dear Mr. Pagan This day united us in the happy Bonds of wedlock. This Day seems Destained for us to Part for the first time, God forbid it should be a final separation. May we once more meet and be happy as we have ever been. May a gracious God Preserve and Protect my dearest Husband from the Dangers of the sea and from the sword of the enemy and from every evil. It’s hard to part, but it must be so. Go then my Dearest life and prosper and may the God of all Grace be your Confidence, may our constant Prayers to heaven be for each other’s temporal and eternal happiness—Fairwell Yours Ever M. PAGAN
Fort George Penobscot 23rd December 17—
My dearest girl—,
I wrote you of the 19th & 20th inst., informing you of our safe arrival
here the 10th after an agreeable passage.
I find this to be a most agreeable situation even at this season, and I am
confident that it must be much more so in summer. The house of Capt. Mowat’s in which Capt. Wright, Capt. Wyer and I live, is glazed,
clapboarded and shingled, but has no chimney nor a single room any way
finished. Capt. Wright, before I came, had a room partitioned off for a
store, and Hearth with a chimney built out of one of the windows which
makes that place Tolerable warm. We have a place boarded off upstairs
about the bigness of your room, in which we all sleep, and it is Close Boarded as to be very comfortable.
I have got a very convenient store parted off in the opposite corner of
the house from Capt. Wrights. Have laid a good floor for it and sealed it
all over. I have also got it all shelved and a fine stove for it, so it is the best
store and the most comfortable Room in the whole place. I have not yet
been able to open any of my goods nor will I for some days as the getting
the vessels dispatched requires my own and Capt. Wright’s constant
attention. Tho’ there have several adventurers arrived with goods in two
vessels lately from Halifax. Yet I find almost all the articles I brought with me
are in demand. And as I have a much better assortment that was ever
brought here by one person, I have no doubt of getting a great part of the customers and selling to a good profit. I have also the prospect of
purchasing lumber, furs & etc. to advantage, in short, I hope and humbly
trust that by the protection and Blessing of that kind and Merciful
providence, who has from our Infancy made us both his peculiar care, I
shall do well here and make a good winter’s work of it.
It is probable that Capt.'s Wright, Wyer and I may be concerned in
the purchase of one or two vessels, some lumber, furs & etc. during the
winter, as it will not be in my power to make such purchases without their
assistance, but what share I shall hold has not yet been talked of between
us.
I think it is not probable that I shall come up in the spring unless there
is a certainty of the Troops going to Falmouth. There is not at present a
House in this whole town in which you could possibly live this winter as
there is not one finished room in any of them. All the houses in the place
are one story high except the one we live in, but if I resolve to stay here
next summer (which if the Troops do not go to Falmouth I believe I shall)
I will, in the spring, build a small house Which I can do at little expense,
for your accommodation and that of your Father and Mother as I am
convinced you will choose to come to this place in the spring and will be
much pleased in its delightful situation.
Beef is very plenty here at 5d or 6d. currency per lb. also Mutton and
at the same price. Butter 1/6 to 2/ per lb. Eggs 1/6 a doz. Wild Fowl 2/
per pair. Milk 6d per quart. Cranberries 10/ per bushel. potatoes &
turnips 3/ per bushel. Cabbage, not large, 5/ per doz. all Halifax currency,
we have also venison at 6d per lb.
By the schooner Seafoam, Capt. Bell, I intend to send you a keg of
pickled lobsters & some smoked salmon, some potatoes & turnips, some
cranberries, some mackerel also a quarter of beef and a side of good
mutton, while I shall procure in two or three days.
I have wrote Willie fully relating our little Garrison & several other
matters, he will show you the letter.
I am not at all uneasy for our safety or that of our property. I desire
to commit myself, you my dearest, all ours and all that we possess to the
protection of that God from whom we have recd. so many signal favors.
who we can both, with pleasing satisfaction, say has hitherto helped us
and who overrules the turbulent dispositions of men as he pleases. He
has most mercifully brought me here in a short and pleasant passage, given
me pleasing prospects here and I trust will crown the undertaking with His
goodness that our hearts may rejoice yet again in the possession of the
blessing of his goodness.
Jonathan Tory, Mrs. Berry’s brother, was at Falmouth about three
weeks ago. He says all that family, Mrs. Berry, Mrs. Oxnard and all her
friends, Mrs. Ross and her friends, Dr. Coffin and all our friends are well.
Mrs. Ross is not married, nor any foundation for the report.
I hope to be able to forward Mrs. Tyng’s letter also Mr. Oxnard’s in a
few days and so inform our friends there of our arrival and all our welfare.
I have met with several of the country people here with whom I used to
trade. There is a son of Samuel Buckman's here called Sam. He tells me
he has often made fun for you and Mrs. Wyer about some old man whose
name I cannot recollect.
I have wrote night and day since I arrived here. Owing to a great deal
of trouble we had had with the sailors. I shall be obliged to set up pretty
late, or rather early to get my letters done, to go by this opportunity. For
this reason, I have not wrote Mrs. Tyng nor Mr. Oxnard and did they
know how much fatigue I have undergone and how late and early I have
been at writing, ever since I arrived here, I am sure they will freely excuse
me. I will write them both fully by the schooner Seafoam, please tell them
this and remember me affectionately to all friends. Capt. Wyer wrote
Mrs. Wyer fully by this opportunity. I believe he means to settle here also
in spring. I have endeavored to mention to you everything I can recollect
and yet I am loathe to give over writing to you. The recollection of my
pleasing. . . . .
On September 3, 1783, the British and the newly christened United States signed The Treaty of Paris which effectively ended the Revolutionary War and set the boundaries between the United States and what is now Canada. The Pagan brothers seeing that their homes in Penobscot Maine were going to be officially part of the United States began planning to move. William Pagan and William Gallop formed the Penobscot Associated Loyalist group and helped relocate 430 families to New Brunswick, Canada.
William Pagan to Dr. William Paine
*
St. Andrews, 2nd May, 1784.
Dear Sir,—
I have just learned of your arrival at Harbor L’Etang and am in great
hopes before you return to Halifax you will find time to pay our new
settlement a visit. You will find us in a state of infancy, but when it is
considered that there was not a single house erected till last October, you
will not think lightly of our exertions.
We have now about Ninety Houses up, and great preparations
making in every quarter of the town for more. Numbers of inhabitants are
daily arriving and a great many others are hourly looked for from different
quarters. Agents are now here from the neighboring States on the look
out for lands for a number of valuable inhabitants who wish to emigrate
here, being tired of their new Government.
I have not yet seen your part of the Bay, but from information the
lands are good. I, early this spring, made one of an Exploring Party. We
went all round Oak Point Bay, and up Scudock River as far as the Indian
settlement a little above the Falls. These are part of the lands laid out for
the Associated Loyalists from Penobscot and I can with pleasure assure
you that the Land is in general very good, abounding with large Quantities
of hard wood, all kinds of Pine Timber of a large growth and very handy
to the water where most vessels can safely anchor. There are a number of
Falls of water where Saw Mills can be erected, but only two on Scudock
yet up. The Mill Privileges on Oak Point Bay have been lately sold to
defray the charges of the Town, the purchasers are making preparations
to erect Saw Mills. The timber is very handy to the mills and no end to the
quantity.
There is a large growth of White Pine fit for Masts & Spars of any
dimensions. In fact from my own observation and from the information I
have had from undoubted authority I am fully convinced that the Grand
Bay of Passamaquoddy alone can supply the whole British West India
Islands with Boards, Planks, Scantling, Ranging Timber, Shingles,
Clapboards and every species of Lumber that can be shipped from New
Brunswick, oak staves excepted. Masts, Spars and square timber,
suitable for the British market, can be furnished to any extent from here,
and nothing prevents these articles from being furnished in greatest
abundance, of the best quality and on at least equal terms with any other
part of the continent, but the want of Inhabitants and Saw Mills, in both
which we have the most promising prospect of cutting a very respectable
figure in the course of this year, 1784.
The easy navigation to this Town exceeds any I have seen; no person
of any observation will want a pilot after being once up, and we are
accessible at all seasons of the year.
The Fishery in this Bay you are no doubt sufficiently informed as to
the great extent it can be carried on.
Excuse the liberty I have taken in giving my opinion of our new
Settlement. I know you are interested in its prosperity and will be pleased
with the accounts I have given, especially when I assure you that I am not
governed by my own opinion alone, but also by the opinion of every
person who has taken pains to explore this portion of the country.
Should your time not permit you to pay us a visit now, I am in hopes
to have the pleasure of meeting you at St. Johns where I shall set out in a
few days on my way to Halifax.
I am dear Sir
Your most obedient servant
WILL. PAGAN.
William, Thomas and John Pagan initially settled in St John, NB and operated their business under the moniker "William Pagan and Co". John Pagan moved to Quebec to run a leg of their business there. Robert Pagan settled in St Andrews, NB.
1.William Pagan died childless in 1819.
2. John Pagan had two daughters named: A. Margaret Dunlap Pagan (1796-1878), who first married Capt John Fallon(?-1822) and second marriage Robert Melville (1788-1849). B. Maria Martin Pagan (1798-1884) who married Henry Graham (1795-1846)
3. Thomas Pagan had two children named: A. George Pagan (1790-1864) married Catherine Elizabeth Putnam Upham (1805-1878) B. Maria Pagan (1792-1829) married Edward DeWofle (1788-1874)
4. Robert Pagan died without issue but he and his wife finished raising George and Maria Pagan, children of his brother and they also raised Miriam Pagan Wyer, a niece by marriage.
Here is a biography of Robert Pagan taken from the Canada Parks website.
The success of the town in these early years was, in part, owing to the drive and initiative of prominent individuals. Robert Pagan, born in 1750, came out from Glasgow, Scotland, to Falmouth as a partner in the firm of Robert Lee and Robert Tucker, shipbuilders and lumber merchants of Greenock. In America the firm name was Robert Pagan and Company. Immediately he became known as "a man of popular manners and such beloved by the people". In 1774 Pagan was a member of a committee appointed to ascertain the names of the holders of tea in the town. A year later he became involved in the revolutionary controversies and abandoned his business after his life had been threatened and after he had been tarred and feathered. His house and store were destroyed during the British bombardment of Falmouth in the fall of 1775. In February 1776, he embarked with his family on board a brig and sailed for the Barbadoes, eventually making his way back to the Colonies. Afterwards, he carried on trade at New York and Penobscot hoping the latter place would eventually become British territory. In the meantime, his ships became active privateers menacing revolutionary lifelines. -* Disappointed initially at the move to St. Andrews, Pagan nevertheless took advantage of the commercial possibilities of the town, as well as the political opportunities offered by such a pioneer community. In addition, Pagan purchased or acquired grants to accessible forests lands within the province; his brig Miriam, named after his wife, plied between St. Andrews and Grenada and other parts of the West Indies. Pagan died in 1821, aged 71, but by that time he had become the most socially and politically prominent individual in Charlotte County. He served the Crown as agent for lands in New Brunswick and assisted in superintending affairs connected with grants to Loyalists. He was also a Justice of the Peace for Charlotte County, a judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and was Colonel of the Militia. Finally, he represented Charlotte County in the House of Assembly at Fredericton, being a leading and influential member of that body.
Now back to John Pagan, son of David, merchant of Greenock. His sons Robert and Thomas settled Pictou in the mid to late 1780's. Their story is not as well-known partly because they arrived after the historic events of the Revolutionary War and partly because they are often confused with the Robert and Thomas of New Brunswick and lastly because the records of Pictou are not as robust as we'd like, some are missing or maybe they just didn't keep them that early. The rest of his children are equally evasive because John Pagan had moved to Greenock and the Parish Records there have gaps for several of the years we need.
John Pagan died around 1795. On August 28, 1788 he gave his son Robert Pagan of Canada Power of Attorney over his Canadian holdings. He further states that his son Thomas was currently living in Petersburg, Virginia and his son John was with him in Greenock.
1. Robert Pagan (1762-1813) married Margaret Patterson and they had two sons: A. John Donald Pagan (1794-1822) B. Robert Harvey Pagan (1799-1826) Both heirs died without known issue.
2. Janet Pagan (1764-?) unmarried and was still living in 1823
3. Catherine Pagan (c1767-?) married Daniel Campbell and had four children: A. Daniel Campbell born 1804 B. Mary Donald Campbell born 1806 C. Daniel Campbell born 1809 D. Catherine Campbell born 1811
4. Mary Pagan (1766-1850) married Peter Ferguson and had three children: A. John Ferguson b.1805 B. Mary Donald Ferguson b. 1806 C. Catherine Ferguson 1808
5. Thomas Pagan ? (1769-) he probably died between 1794-1811 (lived in Virginia in 1788)
6. John Pagan (1771-1803) married Mary Ann Russell February 25, 1797 Philadelphia Pa had two children: 1. Mary Ann Smith Pagan (1798-1855) 2. Christian (Christie) Russell Pagan (1800-1807?)
7. Margaret Pagan (1774-) I know nothing more about her. She was deceased by 1811.
The following transcription is from the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick. It is an agreement/ Will for Janet and Maxwell Pagan last surviving children of William and Margaret Maxwell Pagan. Since their father William and his brother John shared some ownership in the Nova Scotia land they left a percentage of their estate to some of their deceased uncle John's heirs.
Glasgow, Scotland, only surviving daughters of William PAGAN, Sugar Refiner in Glasgow, and Mrs. Margaret MAXWELL, his wife, both deceased. St. John County records. Trust Disposition and Deed of Settlement executed at Edinburgh, Scotland, 22 April 1823, registered 25 July 1824. Registered at the City of Saint John 16 April 1825. Jane and Maxwell PAGAN conveyed to themselves, and the survivor of them, and to James EWING and George HENDERSON Esquires, merchants in Glasgow, and the survivor of them, but in trust always for the ends, uses and purposes after specified their entire present and future estate. First, the sum of £1,000 Sterling, being a provision made by Contract of Marriage betwixt our said father and mother dated 2 June 1753 in favour of the child or children procreated by them, which sum was appointed by our mother after the death of our father to us and Agnes PAGAN, our sister, now deceased, conformably to a Deed of Destination and Obligation executed by her on 9 September 1800. Item, our share in the estates of William PAGAN, merchant in Saint John, New Brunswick, and Robert PAGAN, merchant in Saint Andrews, New Brunswick, our brothers, both deceased. But excepting from the particular Conveyance to the Trustees above written our whole silver plate, china, bed and body clothes, household furniture and plenishing, to be delivered at the death of our survivor to Mrs. Mary MAXWELL, wife of the Reverend James HALL of Edinburgh, and failing her, Miss Isabella HALL, her only daughter. Item, Trustees to hold the fee of the estate and effects of said William PAGAN to be held, two sixth parts for behoof of George PAGAN and Maria PAGAN, children of our deceased brother Thomas PAGAN of New Brunswick; one sixth part for behoof of the grandchildren of the late John PAGAN of Quebec; the remaining three sixths to be paid to the same persons and in the same proportions as is hereinafter appointed with regard to our general residuary Estate. Item, Trustees to hold the fee in Robert PAGAN's estate in trust for behoof of Marion POTT or PAGAN, widow of Robert PAGAN, for her liferent use of the annual proceeds and after her death, to hold the fee in trust for behoof of the said George and Maria PAGAN. To Misses Elizabeth, Mary, Jane and Alexis SCOTT residing in North Hanover Street of Glasgow, £100 Sterling equally among them. To Mrs. Mary MAXWELL, wife of the said Reverend Doctor James HALL of Edinburgh, or failing her, Miss Isabella HALL, her only daughter, £100 Sterling. To James EWING and George HENDERSON Esquires each £100 Sterling. To Mrs. Margaret BUCHAN £100 Sterling. To each of the Reverend Doctor John DICK, Doctor Ralph WARDLAW and Mr. William KIETSTON of Glasgow and Mr. James PRINGLE of Pollockshaws, £50 Sterling. To Maria PAGAN, grand-daughter of late John PAGAN of Greenock, and Mrs. Mary PAGAN or FERGUSON of Greenock, daughter of the said John PAGAN, each 30 Guineas. To Janet CRAWFORD, our servant, £20 over and above the liferent annuity after mentioned. To the Glasgow Auxiliary Bible Society, the Glasgow Baptist Auxiliary Society, the Glasgow Female Society and the Society for Educating the Fatherless Children of Ministers of the United Associate Synod, to be paid to the Directors at Glasgow, each 20 Guineas. To the Glasgow Hibernian School Society and the Glasgow Magdeline Institution each £12 Sterling. Trustees empowered to increase the above sums to all or any of the institutions, namely the Female Society, the Bible and Baptist Societies, the Society for the Children of deceased Seceding Ministers and the Irish School Society, but so as not to give to any one of them an additional sum greater than the donations above specified. All the donations payable at the first term of Martinmas or Whitsunday occurring twelve months after the decease of the survivor of us. To Janet PAGAN, residing in Greenock, daughter of our late uncle John PAGAN, a yearly annuity of £15 Sterling, which may be increased to £20 if the Trustees think proper. To our servant Janet CRAWFORD an annuity of £5, if the Trustees see proper. Residue of estate to be divided among Mary MAXWELL or HALL, or failing her, Miss Isabella HALL in her place, James EWING, Mrs. Margaret BUCHAN, George HENDERSON, their heirs and assigns in proportion to the special legacy provided to such person. The survivor of us and after the death of the longest liver of us, the said James EWING and George HENDERSON and the survivor and accepter of them to be our Executors or Executor and sole and universal intromitters or intromitter. Witnesses: Andrew MITCHELL and James MITCHELL apprentice to Robert GRAHAME, Andrew MITCHELL and Thomas GRAHAME Junr., writers in Glasgow. Administration of the estate in St. John County granted 15 May 1832 to William B. KINNEAR and Francis A. KINNEAR. Fellow bondsmen John KINNEAR and Harrison G. KINNEAR, all of the City of Saint John. Petition for administration stated that Janet PAGAN died 2 January 1824 and Maxwell PAGAN died 5 June 1824; that the named executors proved the will in the Court of Great Sessions at Edinburgh; that the executors, by power of attorney dated 13 July 1831, empowered petitioners William B. KINNEAR and Francis A. KINNEAR to act for them in New Brunswick, and that there are assets in the hands of Robert PARKER Esquire. A seventeen page transcript of the will, or "Trust Disposition and Deed of Settlement" with eight pages of authentication by John LEARMONTH, Lord Provost and Chief Magistrate of Edinburgh, Thomas PEAT, Writer to his Majesty's signet and one of the Keepers of the record of the Court of Council and Session, Andrew PATERSON, Notary Public in Edinburgh, and John MITCHELL and Alexander HENDERSON, Notaries Public in the City of Glasgow.
Getting back to John Pagan, son of John of Greenock. The evidence we had so far is that David Pagan, son of John of Greenock, was living in Petersburg, Virginia and was a copartner with his uncle Robert Donald, James Young and John Murchie. Tragedy struck in 1786 because David Pagan died unmarried and without issue in Petersburg leaving his worldly goods to his parents, siblings, and close friends. He gave his father back his Rygate, Vermont lands and he named one of his executors as his brother Thomas after he came of age. In 1788, when John Pagan of Greenock stated on his POA that his son Thomas was in Virginia he was likely in Petersburg taking care of his brothers' estate. The last record in Pictou that mentions Thomas Pagan is a 1793 tax record and we know that he was dead before 1811.
John Pagan, after his marriage to Mary Ann Russell is next found in Portsmouth (Norfolk) Virginia. He is also in the shipping merchant business with a copartner named Dunbar Sloan dba "Sloan and Pagan". This is just down the inlet from Petersburg Va. There is quite a bit of circumstantial evidence to support his connection with John Pagan of Greenock. First, the similar business model that the Pagan family of Glasgow seems to all employ. Second, his location in Virginia is very near where Thomas and David Pagan resided in the late 1780's and also not far from Alexandria where his father had originally settled in the late 1730's. Third, we also have his daughter's baptism in Norfolk by the Rev James Whitehead taken from a family bible. The record states that he was absent during the baptism because he was away in Nova Scotia. Perhaps visiting his brothers in Pictou? Fourth, the baptism also has a godparent named James Donaldson, which is a name that appears on the business dealings of John Pagan of Greenock. Fifth, his birth, his baptism took place in Glasgow on August 9, 1772. I have no idea how accurate the listing is because there are fifteen other children minimum listed on the same page for the same day. The birth just says, "John Pagan, merchant and Mary Donald, a son John born the 8th wit William Pagan and Robert Donald, merchants". The person who transcribed the bible wrote his birthday as August 1, 1771, it's pretty close and could certainly have been transcribed incorrectly depending on how legible it is.
Mary Ann Smith Pagan, the child of John Pagan and Mary Ann Russell purportedly went back to Glasgow, where on June 17, 1823, she married Archibald Deans. The above-mentioned agreement from Maxwell and Janet Pagan was executed on April 22, 1823, before her marriage and leaves a legacy to "Maria Pagan, granddaughter of John Pagan of Greenock". She is in the 1841 census of Glasgow which just says that she was NOT born there and in the 1851 census she is listed as being born in America. She died in 1855.
Here is some information on Dunbar Sloan, who was the business partner of John Pagan in Norfolk, Virginia. He may have been baptized on July 1, 1760 in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. His parents may have been William Sloan and Helen Dunbar.
He married Sarah Smith, daughter of Hugh Smith, shipmaster of Philadelphia in Sussex County Delaware in 1798.
Here is a brief bio from Loyalist Trails:
Dunbar Sloan is an example of a Scottish loyalist who eventually returned to New York City. Immediately following the revolution, Sloan’s loyalist principles led him to settle in Barbadoes, but not liking the climate, he moved north to Halifax. For several years, he carried on an iron business on Lower Water Street and became a member of the North British (Scotland) Society of Halifax. Later, he returned to New York and re-established himself in business. Ten years after the end of the revolution, the loyalist Scot was selling dry goods; by 1822 he had a farm on the east bank of New Jersey’s Passaic River. Sloan died in New York, November 13, 1836 after a lingering illness.
The Sloan family probably immigrated in either 1773 or 1783 to Canada on one of the ships carrying Highland immigrants to Nova Scotia. He was likely at Falmouth since he went to Barbados when the Revolution started. His nephew: William Dunbar Sloan and James S. Sloan were born in New Brunswick.
To add another confusing family member into the mix! There was a George Pagan of Glasgow, merchant who was copartners with a certain Matthew Crawford. This George Pagan had a store in the 1760's located at Petersburg, Virginia.
George Pagan, merchant of Glasgow, died in January 1769. His Testament Dative in 1771 mentions his two minor sons: Thomas and George. The curators listed to administer the estate for the minors were: William Pagan and John Pagan merchants of Glasgow along with William Caldwell and Thomas Caldwell merchants of Paisley. There were two William Pagan, merchants of Glasgow alive during this period. One was William Pagan (1713-1780), sugar boiler, who married Margaret Maxwell and the other was born c1717 and died c1795. This is likely the William Pagan that married Ann Scott, he was admitted to the Burgess through his marriage because her father David Scott was a Burgess.
George Pagan was admitted to the Burgess on August 10, 1749 but he had to purchase his membership unlike the sons of David Pagan.
| Pagan, George, merchant, B. and G.B, by purchase |
George Pagan (1712-1769) married Janet Caldwell (1719-1759) on January 6, 1745 in Paisley. They had the following children:
1. Jean Pagan born February 4, 1746 and died August 26, 1763
2. Elizabeth Pagan born September 8, 1749, died October 31, 1764
3. Margaret Pagan born August 28, 1750
4. William Pagan born July 24, 1751 died October 8, 1836 (married Katherine Hart)
5. Thomas Pagan born August 29, 1753 died 1833 London, England (married Jane Grove)
6. Walter Pagan born January 18, 1755 died January 12, 1759 buried Cathedral grounds
7. George Pagan born February 21, 1756 died 1781 in Lancashire, England
8. Allan Pagan born August 19, 1758 (did he die in 1759? burial record is confusing. Lists Allan Pagan buried but aged 4?)
William Pagan, son of George, amends his father's Testament Dative c1796 and mentions his brother Thomas of London. He states that he is the eldest surviving son of George.
The company Pagan and Crawford appear in an early Virginia Chancery suit. It spans from the late 1700's until about 1844. William Pagan, son of George, states that he is the only living son of George at that time.
William Pagan, son of George, went to Dominica then to Edinburg. He married Katharine Hart in Canongate, Midlothian, Scotland. He worked in partnership with his brother Thomas.
Thomas Pagan, son of George, went to London, he married Jane Grove. In a 1784 court case concerning his wife Jane, they must have been accused of not being married because Jane claimed that they were married in Flanders while her husband was a merchant based in Geneva. Whether it was true or not they legally married on September 5, 1795.
**The other William Pagan, Glasgow merchant (1717-1795) may to be a brother of this George**
**Another possible sibling of George and William may be David Pagan, tailor, husband of Isabella Craig**
Followes the deids [= dead’s] Latter will and Legacie
At Glasgow the fyftein day of June 1689 yeirs The q[uhi]lk [= which] day
Thomas pagane me[rchan]d [= merchant] y[ai]r [= there] being sicke of bodie bot sound in Judge-
ment and vnderstanding and Resolved to settle his wordlie affairs
does heirby make his testament and Latter will as followes
Imprimis [ Latin for firstly] He nominats makes and constituts Johne Wallace
tayleor [= tailor] mer[chan]d in Glasgow, James Wallace merchand y[ai]r and
Johne Spreule w[ri]ter [= lawyer] ther His onlie exe[cuto]rs sole and vniversill
intromettors with his haill [= whole] goods geir [= gear] debts and soumes of money
Item he heirby nominats and appoynts the s[ai]ds thrie persones
his ex[ecuto]rs, To be tutors [= guardians in legal matters] to marie david and Johne paganes
his childrine Item his debts being payit [= paid] he heirby Leaves in
Legacie To the saids thrie executors and tutors The soume [= sum]
of ffourtie pound sterling equallie amongst them for ther pains
in executing of ther said offices of exe[cut]orie and tutorie Likeas [= likewise]
It is heirby providit That In caice [= case] It shall happine all
the childrine of the said Thomas pagane Shall happen
To depairt this Lyfe befor Lawfull mariage or before they
attaine to the age of tuentie ane [= one] zeirs [= years] compleat which of them
shall first happine To occurr That then and in that caice
of the said haill [= whole/all] childrines decease as said is expreslie and no vther
ways [= not otherwise] The said Thomas heirby Leaves in Legacie to the
persons efterspe[cife]it [= afterspecified] the soumes of money following viz in the first
To david and Anna Kilpatricks childrine to Johne Kilpa
=trick in Barmuire equallie betuixt them The soume of
Thrie Thowsand merkes [ a merk = 13/4d] scots mo[n]ey Item to Johne Rodger,
Alex[ande]r, Helen, and marion Pagans in barbroughe mylne [= mill]
equallie amongst them The soume of ane Thowsand
merkes money forsaid Item to Johne, Alexander Helen
Elspeth and ----- [name left blank] Goldies childrine Lau[fu]ll to Thomas
Goldie in Closburne equallie amongst them The soume of
Two Thowsand merkes money forsaid and q[uhi]lk [= which] two Thow-
sand merkes mo[n]ey is heirby ordainit [= ordained] to be Lyfrented [= liferented] by the
s[ai]d Thomas Goldie himself during his Lyftyme Item to marion
and Jonet maders daughters to Robert mader in Wanfurd-
muir equallie amongst them The soume of ffive hundredth [= hundred]
merkes money forsaid Item to Thomas, Jonet and marrion
Pagans childrine to James Pagane in closeburne equallie
amongst them The soume of Thrie Thowsand merkes mo[ne]y
fors[ai]d As also the s[ai]d Thomas Does heirby Give full power
and commissione To the s[ai]ds Johne and James Wallaces and Johne
Spreule ex[ecuto]rs and tutors forsaids To diminishe or augment his s[ai]ds
childrines portione as they shall find themselves necessitat [= necessitated] swa [= so]
to doe [= do] Providing alwayes that any alterati(o)une they shall find them-
selves necessitat to make shall be to the behoove [= behoof] of ane or aith[e]r [= other]
of the s[ai]ds childrine and not vtherwayes [= otherwise] In witnes q[uhai]rof [= whereof]
thir [= these] p[rese]nts [i.e this present document]
Writtin be [= by] the s[ai]d Jon Spreule & are sub[scrivi]t [= signed] att day yeir & plaic [= place]
fors[ai]d Before thir [= these] witnesses Wm dowglas [= Douglas], and Thomas Kirk mer[chan]ds travellors between Scotland and England sic sub[scribe]t(u)r [= Latin for thus signed] Thomas Pagan William Dowglas witness Thomas Kirk witnes
