Chipman family fonds

1760-1899

3.8 m of textual records

Handley Chipman (1714-1799) and his son, William Allen Chipman (1757-1845), were New England planters who moved with their families from Rhode Island to Cornwallis Township, N.S., ca. 1764. They built a sizeable fortune as merchants, farmers and landowners and held several appointments and elected positions in Kings County. William Henry (1807-1870), merchant, farmer, and politician, married Sophia A. Cogswell (1807-1878) and they had nine children. Their son, John Ross Chipman (1834?-1927) was a farmer and exporter, and married Sarah Eliza (Starr).

Seth W. Crowell, a professional engineer and provincial land surveyor, was appointed a trustee of Ross Chipman's estate by Dr. Leverett de Veber Chipman, son of Ross Chipman, and was given responsibility for finding a location to place certain Kings County records. They were placed in the care of the Acadia University Library until 1932, when they were donated to the Public Archives of Nova Scotia on behalf of Mr. Crowell.

Fonds consists of records documenting the business activities and positions held by the Chipman family in Kings County, N.S., including Ross Chipman, his father, William Henry Chipman, and his great-grandfather, William Allen Chipman. Fonds contains correspondence, deeds, mortgages, and other material relating to Chipman family estates and associated families, 1760-1877; journals, accounts, receipts, and legal records, pertaining to family businesses in Kings County and Halifax, 1847-1899, including Chipman & Co. and W.H. Chipman and Son; assessment rolls, minutes, petitions, and other material relating to the Court of General Sessions and the Inferior Court of Common Pleas, 1761-1865; accounts, labour books, minutes, and other material concerning the construction of dykes, 1760-1834; and records of attendance, lists of supplies and promotions, and company rolls regarding the 68th Kings County Regiment, Reserve Militia of Canada, 1864-1869.

Notes:
Title based on contents of fonds.

Microfilm copies are available.

File lists available.

Related material may be found in: W.H. Chipman and Son fonds (MG 3, vols. 1725 A-B, 1726); Court of General Sessions, Kings County (RG34-316); Cornwallis Township book (mfm nos.12261-12262); 1851 Census for Kings County, Commissioner of Public Records collection (RG1, Vol. 451½ : mfm no. 15482); Kings County assessments, 1842, Commissioner of Public Records collection (RG1, vol. 254, no.109: mfm no.15348); Nova Scotia House of Assembly fonds (RG5, Series P); and Nova Scotia education records collection (RG14, vols. 40-42.)

Seth Crowell gave permission to the Acadia University Librarian to classify and separate the "Chipman Papers". It is unclear as to what, if any, records originally in this fonds remained at Acadia University. There is evidence that after the records came to the Public Archives of Nova Scotia, they were separated and classified with similar records; for example, the 1851 Census Returns for Kings County were placed with other census returns in RG1, Vol. 452½. It is unknown which other records may have been transferred elsewhere among PANS holdings. [See: Public Archives of Nova Scotia fonds, Correspondence files of Provincial Archivist, 1932: Crowell, Seth W.; and note by Dr. Phyllis Blakeley in biography card catalogue.]

Retrieval:
MG1, vol. 181-218; microfilm reels #9203-9206; 9210-9212; 9215; 9491-9492; 9494-9497; 9509-9514; 9520-9524; 10154