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Acte de vente entre Philip Long, Alexandre Fraser et
Joseph Bouchette en date du 31 mars, 1818 par devant notaire à Québec.
Source: Jean-Claude Massé.
Transcription: Gilles Paillard.
Texte de
Benoît Long Le texte de l'acte de vente entre Philip
Long, Alexandre Fraser et Joseph Bouchette est tout à fait historique
pour les descendants de Philip Long.
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En premier
lieu, cet acte de vente confirme que tous les droits acquis par Philip
Long sur les terres au bord du lac Témiscouata dans la Seigneurie du
Témiscouata, furent effectivement éteint pas ce document. Nous ne
pouvons qu'imaginer l'impact sur l'épopée de la Fortune des Long si cet
acte de vente avait été connu;
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Les terres
à la tête du lac Témiscouata avaient autrefois appartenu à David
Higgenbotham, un indien-courrier, qui devint le témoin principal au
mariage de Philip et Marie-Julie. Nous savons aujourd'hui que
Higgenbotham avait reçu les droits à ces terres du Gouverneur Haldimand
lui-même en 1778 à la fois pour le récompenser pour ses services et
aussi pour créer un service postal régulier entre Halifax et Québec.
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Nous
apprenons dans le texte que Philip Long s'établit à la tête du lac
Témiscouata sans "titre" mais qu'il avait apporté certaines
améliorations;
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Alexandre Fraser et Joseph Bouchette étaient partenaires et
coseigneurs de ladite Seigneurie du Témiscouata, et qu’ils souhaitaient
créer un village du nom de Kent à l’emplacement de la ville de Cabano
d’aujourd’hui;
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Cet acte
nous montre le prix exact que Philip Long a obtenu pour ses terres :
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Quinze
livres sterling
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Obtention
des droits pour lui-même et ses descendants des titres pour les
concessions et lots telle qu’indiquée :
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Cent quatre-vingt-huit pieds (mesures anglaises et
perpendiculaires) des lots un, deux et trois entre le lac par devant, la
rue Fraser à l’arrière, le marché à poisson sur un côté, et la place du
marché de l’autre côté; ici, nous apprenons que la maison de Philip Long
était située exactement sur le lot # 3 mentionné plus haut. Ces lots
étaient conformes aux plans déposés dans les bureaux des avocats W. F.
Scott.
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Aussi,
les droits à deux terres où fermes qui seront créés dans le fief et la
Seigneurie, et qui seront choisis par Philip Long, ses héritiers avant
que tout autre terres ou lots ne soit octroyé à quiconque voudra
s’installer dans la région; et que ces titres porteront les mêmes
conditions que usuelles sauf des rentes supplémentaires au cens.
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Fait
intéressant : le 12 août, 1824, Jean-Baptiste Long et Marguerite Émond
(son épouse) vendent au Seigneur Alexandre Fraser une terre qui fait
quatre arpents de front sur les bords du lac et d’une profondeur d’une
concession, et « à peu près une demie lieue de distance courant nord du
chemin du Portage ou de la maison de Philip Long, sans bâtisse dessus
construites. » Le plus intéressant, c’est le commentaire suivant :
« Provenant au vendeur par concession dudit Alexandre Fraser, lequel
acte n’a pu être exhibé ». Cet acte dont on fait référence dans l’acte
de vente de Jean-Baptiste en 1824 est celui entre son père Philip et
Fraser et Bouchette en date du 31 mars 1818!
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Nous avons retrouver récemment une lettre entre Philip Long et Alexandre
Fraser, en date du 5 janvier, 1827, où Philip fait mention du paiement
pour la vente d'une terre précédente et dont les paiements devaient être
faits sur une période de deux ans. D'aprés le choix de mots,
il nous apparaît assez clair que cette vente avait du avoir lieu entre
1825-1826. Avec cette dernière vente, Philip s'était donc
débarassé de toutes ses terres autour du lac qu'il avait soit acquit,
améliorée ou reçues dans le cadre de transactions avec Fraser.
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Alexandre Fraser fait don à Joseph Bouchette, soit en
novembre 1817 et encore en mars 1818, d'une grande étendue de terre
dans ses segneuries le long de la rivière Madawaska. Bouchette
vendera ce terrain 1829 afin de financer la publication de son
deuxième grand ouvrage, The British Dominions.
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Cet
acte de vente de 1818 demeure un document historique pour toute la
famille, et aurait peut-être changé toute la teneur de cette fameuse
histoire de la fortune des Long.
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Agreement for sale of land between Philip Long, Alexander Fraser and
Joseph Bouchette, dated March 31, 1818 at Quebec City.
source: Jean-Claude Massé. Transcript: Gilles
Paillard.
Text by Benoît Long
The text of the sale of land between Philip Long, Alexander Fraser and
Joseph Bouchette is very historic for our family.
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First,
this sale confirms that all the acquired rights that Philip Long had
over the lands at the head of lake Temiscouata were extinghuished by
this document. One can only imagine the impact on those of our
family who believed for so many years in a magical fortune story
that partly revolved around unextinguished land rights in the
vicinity of the lake or in the Madawaska Seigneury;
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the land
at the head of lake Temiscouata had once belonged to David
Higginbotham, an indian-courrier, who was the main witness to the
wedding of Philip Long and Marie-Julie Couillard-Després in 1792.
We know today that Higgenbotham had received the rights to these
lands from Governor Haldimand as both a reward for his services as a
courrier in the American Revolution but also as a means of
establishing a regular postal route between Quebec and Halifax to
replace the one lost with New York.
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We also
learn from the text that Philp Long had established himself at this
end of the lake without a clear title to the land, but that he had
made some improvements over over the years;
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Alexander
Fraser and Joseph Bouchette were partners and co-Seigneurs in a new
venture, that is, to create a new town to be called Kent on the same
spot that Cabano sits on today;
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We also
find out the exact price and conditions of sale for the land sold by
Philip Long:
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Interesting factoid: on August 12, 1824, Jean-Baptiste Long and
Marguerite Émond (his spouse) would sell to Alexander Fraser a
parcel of land that would be four acres wide and a full concession
deep from the lake, and this at about half a league from the
location of Philip Long's house. Perhaps most interesting is a
note at the end of that bill of sale that says that this land had
been obtained by Jean-Baptiste through a concession but that no
document could be produced to that effect. Obviously, the act
that is referenced in 1824 is surely the one between
Long-Fraser-Bouchette in 1818.
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The story
gets perhaps even more interesting. The 1818 sale gave Philip
two concessions, and until very recently, we had no indications of
the second one (if we believe as we must that the 1824 sale
represented the first).
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Alexander Fraser was to donate to Joseph Bouchette a
large protion of lands along the Madawaska River first in November
1817 and then again in March 1818. Bouchette would later seel
these lands to finance his second seminal work, The British
Dominions.
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However,
we have located recently a letter from Long to Fraser dated January
5, 1827 where Philip mentions the sale of a parcel of land and for
which he was to receive payment over a period of two years.
Based on the language in that letter, it is pretty clear that the
second sale of a parcel of land, yet to be uncovered and located,
did take place between 1825 or 1826. This would mean that
prior to leaving the lake Temiscouata region, Philip had sold all
the land that he had made improvements on since his arrival in 1809,
and or had acquired through various sales.
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This
sales document from 1818 is quite important for the Long family,
particularly in view of the likely impact it would have had on the
fabulous story of the Long fortune a century later.
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31st March 1818 Agreement Philip Long
and Joseph Bouchette
On the Thirty first day of March in the year of Our Lord One Thousand
Eight hundred and Eighteen Before Us the Undersigned Notaries Public
duly admitted and sworn for the Province of Lower Canada and residing in
the City of Quebec in the said Province personally came appeared and
were present Philip Long of that part of the Fief and Seigneury of Lake
Temiscouata situate at the extremity of the Portage at present in the
said City of Quebec Yoeman Of the One Part and Joseph Bouchette Esquire
of the said City of Quebec Surveyor General of the said Province acting
for the effect of these Presents for himself and Alexander Fraser of the
Parish of Saint Patrick in the Seigneury of River du Loup in the County
of Cornwallis in the District of Quebec Esquire as Co-Seigneurs of the
said Fief and Seigneury of Lake Temiscouata Of the Other Part.
Which said parties in the presence of Us the said Notaries did and do
hereby severally declare acknowledge and admit covenant promise and
agree to and with the other of them as follows that is to say - Whereas
he the said Philip Long hath settled at the aforesaid part of the said
Fief and Seigneury of Lake Temiscouata without any title and hath made
certain improvements thereon - And Whereas the said Joseph Bouchette and
Alexander Fraser propose laying out a Town at the place so settled and
improved by the said Philip Long to be called the Town of Kent and the
said Philip Long for the considerations herein after mentioned hath
agreed to surrender unto the said Joseph Bouchette and Alexander Fraser
that part of the said Fief and Seigneury of Lake Temiscouata by him
settled and improved as aforesaid - Now these Presents Witness that the
said Philip Long for the considerations herein after mentioned and the
further valuable consideration of Fifteen pounds Current money of this
Province to him the said Philip Long at and before the execution of
these Presents by the said Joseph Bouchette in hand well and truly paid
receipt whereof the said Philip Long doth hereby acknowledge and Dont
Quittance - did and doth hereby surrender unto the said Joseph
Bouchette and Alexander Fraser hereof accepting the said Joseph
Bouchette as follows that is to say - The aforesaid part of the said
fief and Seigneury of Lake Temiscouata by him the said Philip Long
settled and improved as aforesaid And all and every the rights claims
and pretensions whatsoever of him the said Philip Long of in to and out
of the same by
reason of the said settlement and improvement or otherwise howsoever.
To Have and To Hold all and singular the said Premises thus surrendered
unto
the said Joseph Bouchette and Alexander Fraser their Heirs and Assigns
henceforth forever - And in the presence of Us the said Notaries the
said Joseph Bouchette acting as aforesaid and in further consideration
of the said surrender thus made did and doth hereby grant covenant and
agree to and with the said Philip Long accepting hereof as follows that
is to say - To give unto him the said Philip Long his heirs or assigns
forthwith on the Survey and Subdivision of the said proposed Town of
Kent Titles of Concession for the following described Lots therein of
which he is to retain possession containing one hundred and ninety eight
feet # 1 and being the Lots N°S One Two and Three between the Lake in
front and Fraser Street in the rear thereof and the Fish Market on one
side and the Street between the said Lots and the Market Place on the
other side thereof on one of which Lots To Wit N° 3 next this latter
Street the house of the said Philip Long is situate and built. The whole
conformably to the Plan of the said town deposited in the Office of W.
F. Scott one of the Undersigned Notaries for reference thereto. Together
also with Titles of Concession for two lands or farms to be laid out in
the said Fief and Seigneury of Lake Temiscouata and to be chosen by the
said Philip Long his heirs or Assigns #2 before any other Lands or farms
therein shall be conceded to any other person or persons. The said
several Titles of Concession for the Town Lots and Lands to be upon the
usual conditions in like cases and such as shall be granted to the other
Censitaires. #3
And for the execution of these Presents the said parties do hereby make
election of Domicile at their present and respective residences
aforesaid.
Thus Done and Passed in the said
City of Quebec at the Office of W. F. Scott one of
the Undersigned Notaries on the day and year first above written in the
fore noon. In Faith and Testimony Whereof the said parties have to these
Presents first duly read set and subscribed their respective names and
signatures in the presence of Us the said Notaries also hereunto
Subscribing
Words struck out are null.
Marginal notes approved are good.
Philip Long
Jos. Bouchette
B. Lelievre
W. F. Scott
#1 English measure in perpendicular breadth
#2 After the said Seigneurs shall have made such reserves therein as
they
may think fit
#3 but without any other rent than the
cens
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