Vere went ashore and picked out the land for his future home. He and Elizabeth were the first settlers in Guernsey Cove. There were no residents at all nearby at that time, and only a few in the entire area. A census taken in 1798 listed three families in Lot 64: Nicholas Hugh, with a family of three; William Sencabaugh, with a family of five; and a Mrs. Foster, with a family of five, all in the Murray Harbour area. They were Loyalists who had fled the United States during or after the American Revolution. Later in 1798 James Irving and his family arrived from Scotland and settled on a farm at Beach Point. In 1806, the Guernsey settlers visited the cove. They stopped briefly and named the area Guernsey Cove, but moved on and settled on Machon’s Point in Murray Harbour. The group was made up of eight families: the Brehauts, Lelacheurs, Machons, Marquands, Dejerseys, Taudvins, Roberts and Nicolles. In 1808 James Richards arrived from Cardiff, Wales.

The Rev. James McGregor, D.D., a Presbyterian Minister, visited Murray Harbour in 1806 and described the situation in his Mem- oirs. He said at that time there were only three actual settlers besides the hands connected with a fishing establishment at Beach Point set up by Cambridge the year before. He added that early in that spring (1806) a number of families immigrated from Guernsey and were at that time living in the Cambridge store, located at Beach Point in a spot still commonly known as the Old Store Point where the Harbour Beacon now stands. (James Penny arrived in 1806 too, but it must have been after Dr. McGregor’s visit because he did not mention the Pennys in his Memoirs.)

Dr. McGregor stayed with and did his preaching in the home of James Irving, a Dumfriesshire Presbyterian. The immigrants from Guernsey were generally Episcopalians, who were familiar with the teachings of John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement. Dr. McGregor said his sermons were very acceptable to them.

His account of his visit confirms that John Cambridge was eager to provide all the support needed to help settlers get established in their new home. So when the Becks agreed to settle in Guernsey Cove they would have had the full support of the Cambridge organization. This

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