Timothy Houghton (21 August 1727 – 10 May 1780) was the founder of

Chester, Nova Scotia Chester is a village on the Chester Peninsula, Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada. History The French had been present in Acadia since the early 1600s, but when the British expanded into the area in the 1700s, Acadian settlements on the South ...

(1759). In the wake of the American patriot rebellion in the Siege of Fort Cumberland during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, while Chief magistrate and Justice of the Peace for the Chester township, he was jailed for betraying the Loyalist cause. Among other crimes, he was accused of helping American privateer prisoners escape back to Boston. According to historian Barry Cahill, this trial was the most important court proceedings against a New England Planter patriot along Nova Scotia’s South Shore, which included the Townships of Liverpool, Yarmouth and Barrington. One of his four accusers was John Umlach of the

Royal Nova Scotia Volunteer Regiment The Royal Nova Scotia Volunteer Regiment, also known as the Loyal Regiment of Nova Scotia Volunteers and Loyal Nova Scotia Volunteers, from 1775-1780, the Royal Regiment of Nova Scotia Volunteers, from 1780-1783, and the Royal Nova Scotia Volun ...

. Through the trials for sedition, the Nova Scotia (Loyalist) government at Halifax was able to establish the “legal repression and the general criminalization of political dissent.” Houghton's trial was only one of two in the province (

John Frost (minister) Rev. John Frost (22 October 1716 Kittery, Maine 13 July 1779, Argyle, NS; went to Argyle, Nova Scotia) was the first ordained Protestant minister in present-day Canada. (Ten months later Rev. Bruin Romkes Comingo was officially ordained as the ...

was the other) that were successfully prosecuted.

Career

Houghton was born in

Bolton, Massachusetts Bolton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Bolton is in central Massachusetts, located 25 miles west-northwest of downtown Boston along Interstate 495. It is within Greater Boston and MetroWest regions. The population ...

. During the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

, from April to November, 1754, he served on the eastern frontier in Col. John Winslow's regiment. In the Crown Point expedition, Aug. 9, 1755, he was adjutant in Col. Samuel Willard's regiment. In 1756 he led a company largely recruited by his lieutenant from Walton, Mass. Joining the migration of

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 ...

into Nova Scotia, Timothy Houghton and Eunice Whitcomb left Boston, Massachusetts, on 30 July 1759 and arrived in Chester, Nova Scotia, on 4 August.3. Houghton along with Reverend

John Seccombe Rev. John Seccombe (25 April 1708 – 27 October 1792) was an author, a founder of Chester, Nova Scotia and was “the best-known and most highly respected clergyman in Nova Scotia.” He was also the author of ''Father Abbey's Will'', which was p ...

founded the Chester Township. During the American Revolution, Timothy Houghton was sentenced to six months in jail for

seditious Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establis ...

statements about the King. The foreman of the grand jury that indicted Houghton was John George Pyke. He served two months of his sentence and was released on 10 February 1777. (Rev.

was arraigned but never prosecuted, undoubtedly due to his popularity.)Reference to Seecomb's "negro woman-servant".
/ref> Houghton died on 10 May 1780 at

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

, at age 52, of small-pox.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Houghton, Timothy 1727 births 1780 deaths Pre-Confederation Nova Scotia people

Career

See also

References