Migration from Yorkshire to Nova Scotia occurred between 1772 and 1775 and involved an approximate one thousand migrants from mainly

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

arriving in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

in efforts to maintain occupancy of the territory by British sympathizing groups to maintain the land free of its Acadian population following their deportation. The immigration was the initiative of the Lieutenant Governor of the colony,

Michael Francklin Michael Francklin or Franklin (6 December 1733 – 8 November 1782) served as Nova Scotia's Lieutenant Governor from 1766 to 1772. He is buried in the crypt of St. Paul's Church (Halifax). Early life and immigration Born in Poole, Engla ...

. The first settlers arrived in 1772 aboard the ship ''Duke of York''. Between 1773 and 1775 several additional ships arrived, peaking in 1774 with the arrival of 9 vessels. PointDeButeLychGate

Many of the Yorkshire pioneers were Wesleyan Methodists and were responsible for establishing the earliest Methodist

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

s in Canada (1790). The immigrants were mostly tenant farmers in Yorkshire, although a few also came from

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

. They left for Nova Scotia "in order to seek a better livelihood". Rather than receiving land grants from the government, as had the previous immigrants, the

New England Planters The New England Planters were settlers from the New England colonies who responded to invitations by the lieutenant governor (and subsequently governor) of Nova Scotia, Charles Lawrence, to settle lands left vacant by the Bay of Fundy Campaign ( ...

, the new arrivals came with money and purchased their lands from the government or from Planters who were at the time beginning to leave. It has been argued that these pioneers were instrumental in preventing victory by American sympathisers during the

Eddy Rebellion The Battle of Fort Cumberland (also known as the Eddy Rebellion) was an attempt by a small number of militia commanded by Jonathan Eddy to bring the American Revolutionary War to Nova Scotia in late 1776. With minimal logistical support from Ma ...

of 1776. Named for Jonathan Eddy, the Rebellion was an attempt to wrestle Nova Scotia from the British in order for it join the thirteen colonies in the newly created United States. Aiding British troops from Halifax, the Yorkshire pioneers helped subdue the rebels, including some New England Planters that supported the American Revolution, in a three-week siege of

Fort Cumberland A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

Sources

''The Yorkshire Emigration'' website. The site also provides the surnames of the settlers

See also

Sources

Further reading