was taken from him in part payment of his debts, but he acquired 300 acres of land on the Stanhope peninsula, bounded on the North West by James Curtis’ land, South East by a line of division between land formerly possessed or occupied by Duncan MacEwen running North 39 degrees East from Stanhope Cove to the sea and on South West by Stanhope Cove.

On an Indenture dated May 1, 1778, David Lawson, Esq., of Stanhope, conveyed this land to William Lawson, farmer. David signed this as agent for James Montgomery (Ira Brown Papers, PAPEI). David lived here, after leaving Stanhope Farm, with his son William and his family, in a log house; the property was known as the “Dollery Farm”, possibly after a small place called “Dollerie” located just outside Crieff in Perthshire, whence David came. 150 acres of this property, which was at first rented on a 999 year lease, was bought by David and James Lawson from Sir James Montgomery II and brothers in 1832. The log house remained in use until the 1880s when it was torn down by a descendant of David, Sarah Lawson, and her husband John A. Kielly and his brother Malcolm, to be replaced by a more modern home. A small box that David used as a storage place for the “quit rent” collections was found in the log house and is still in existence today, together with a small sea chest found at the same time.

The story is told that when David became older, he was afraid that someone would take his money away from him, so he kept the “quit rent” box under his bed and had a wooden club beside him for protection in case of robbery. The October, 1805 payment of his pension was the last one issued to David that we have been able to find In James Curtis in account with Sir James Montgomery, in the Montgomery Papers, PAPEI, so presumably he died at some time after 1805.

David was the ancestor of the many Lawsons who, along with the families of the other settlers, used their knowledge, ingenuity, and muscle, to build Stanhope and its surrounding areas into what we share today.

Some notes on David Lawson’s children

William was baptised on July 27, 1745 in the parish of Monzie, Perthshire, the eldest child of David and Helen. He became very active in the political affairs of the Province, being in the First House of Assembly with his father and brother in July, 1773, and remaining a’ prominent figure until his death at the age of 91 on February 23, 1836. He married Mary, a daughter of Neil Shaw of Stanhope, in 1774, and they had six children: Helen, Isabella, Elizabeth, David, Ann and William. Mary died before 1792, and on November 30, 1792, William

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