Oulton descendants to celebrate 250th anniversary at upcoming reunion

Some of the many descendants of Charles and Abigail (Fillmore) Oulton will be in the Port Elgin/Point de Bute/Jolicure area later this week to celebrate the 250th anniversary of that families' immigration to Canada in 1759.
One of the earliest English families to settle on the Isthmus of Chignecto, the Oulton descendants are now spread far and wide; to many points within the United States and as far away as Argentina.
Oulton descendant Arthur Owen said last week from his home near Ottawa, that current organizers of the reunion are expecting more than 100 family members to attend the weekend events.
"There are that many registered, many from other areas across Canada and parts of the US, but we expect more local persons to register before the start of the reunion," he said.
He noted the first modern reunion of the Oulton family took place in 2000 and was attended by 300 Oulton descendants - including one person from Argentina - followed by a smaller gathering in 2003.
"Many years ago one member of the Oulton family immigrated to Argentina and his descendants still live in that country."
During the reunion Oulton descendants will 'catch up' with other family members and will enjoy discovering their spots on the family tree. They will be assisted in this endeavour by a database of over 16,000 names of Oulton family descendants that was compiled by Owen.
"I have a web site entitled 'Our Maritime Ties" from which we print out descendants' reports especially for people to look at during the reunions," he said.
Weekend events also include a talk by local author/historian Bill Hamilton on the history of the region from the 1750s to 1850s; talks from various family members on some of the highlights of their portion of the family tree; roast beef supper on Saturday and lobster roll supper on Sunday, both at the Port Elgin Exhibition building; a church service on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Jolicure; visiting other local cemeteries; and visiting the grave site of Charles and Abigail Oulton at the Jolicure Old Presbyterian Cemetery.
Charles Oulton was born in 1744 to William and Charity (Bellamy) Oulton; his father apparently died in the service of King George, prior to Charles and Charity's arrival in Halifax in 1752. When mother and son arrived in the Chignecto area some time later, the French and English were still at war.
In June, 1755 Fort BeausÉjour fell to the British and the Acadian deportation which followed also spawned several years of guerilla warfare that ceased only with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. At that time, with the promise of peaceful years ahead, English settlers finally began to receive grants of land.
Charles Oulton was just 19 years of age at the time, not old enough to be a property owner, however he was given a grant of 500 acres in the new Township of Cumberland, at that time part of Nova Scotia.
A short time after arriving in the area, Charity Oulton married innkeeper John Bishop, but he died sometime prior to 1762. The original Town Book of Sackville notes that the first meetings to organize Sackville Township took place at the home of Mrs. Charity Bishop, inn holder at Cumberland, July 20, 1762. A second meeting was held at the same location just three weeks later but by the third meeting, which took place one year later on August 31, 1763, Charity Bishop had married Sennacherib Martyn. (There appear to be two schools of thought with regards to Martyn; some information notes he was captain of the fort supply ship while others refer to his occupation as inn owner in Halifax and later in Cumberland). Charity and Sennacherib later moved to Windsor, N.S.
Abigail Fillmore came to the Township of Cumberland with her parents and nine siblings in 1763 as part of the New England Planter migration to Nova Scotia. The Fillmore family, who had come from England in the 1670s, had also received a land grant that was adjacent to that of the Oultons, so it was natural that a romance bloomed between young Charles and Abigail. The couple was married in September 1768 by the Cumberland Town clerk since there was no clergy in that area at that time. Over the next 25 years, seven girls and five boys were born to the couple, and as the years passed that number grew to include more than 100 grandchildren and in excess of 600 great-grandchildren. As the children grew and married, the Oulton family became linked to other families in the area including Anderson, Boyce, Bowser, Brownell, Bulmer, Copp, Fields, Fillmore, Fisher, Lowerison, McCormick, Ogden, Oulton, Siddall, Smith, Teed, Tingley, and Williams, among others.
After almost 60 years of marriage, Charles and Abigail Oulton died within six hours of each other and were buried together in 1826. A Saint John newspaper told of their demise:
"They were loving and affectionate in their lives and in their death were not divided. Mr. Oulton...by his industry as a farmer acquired a considerable property. And by his integrity and good moral conduct, a fair and lasting character...their sons are amongst the most industrious, independent and respectable in that country."
Additional reunion information can be found at ourmaritimeties.com. Persons wishing to register for the Oulton reunion can do so by calling Douglas Oulton anytime at 506-536-3444; or at the time of the events.