Planters, Paupers, and Pioneers

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Lucille H. Campey. Planters, Paupers, and Pioneers

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Planters, Paupers,

and Pioneers

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Late eighteenth-century portrait of Walter Patterson, who became Prince Edward Island’s first governor in 1769. His corrupt and incompetent handling of land transactions following the 1767 lottery made him a controversial figure, and, after seventeen years as governor, he was forced to leave office. In 1798, Patterson died in poverty at his lodgings in London.

When Lord Seymour of Ragley took possession of Lot 13 in Prince Edward Island, Charles Morris, the surveyor, selected “1,000 acres of the best land” for him and allocated the remainder to his future tenants. This was all going to be very beneficial to his lordship, since the rents collected from tenants would more than pay for the quit rents — land fees that were payable to the Crown.38 Lord Seymour grabbed most of the economic benefit for himself, denying his settlers the prospect of owning land. This aspect of Old World thinking caused considerable resentment in Prince Edward Island, and many settlers left the province.

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