"Melville and Barberton Rear of Port Hawkesbury
One of the pioneer settlers here was John Baillieul from S.S. Guernsey,
married to Elizabeth Brouard, daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Brouard. This John
Baillieul had four sons: Peter a sea captian was drowned at sea; William lives 3 miles from Port Hawkesbury on the road to
Cleveland and St. Peter's; John and Nicholas at Melville on the same road. John had a scattered family."
From J.L. MacDougall's book History of Inverness County published 1922
In 1836, John Baillieul of Ship
Harbour purchased 200 acres of land in '"rear Port Hawkesbury" "about three miles
and a half distant from Ship Harbour".
This is now known as Melville. The land was bought from Roderick and Catherine Cameron. It bordered both sides of Duff's Brook
at the foot of Duff's Hill. If you drive out from town , the land is on your right. The land near them was owned by James
Duff, a pioneer of the area. He figures in Baillieul history as one of his daughters marries one of John Baillieul"s sons.
The warrenty deed mentioned here is recorded in Arichat. Of interest is that the Justice of the Peace who examined Mrs. Cameron
"apart", as they said in those days, was none other than Peter John Brouard, who was a justice of the Peace as well as a ship
builder, and , of course was John Baillieul's father-in-law. The house that Elizabeth and John lived in was still standing
into the 1900s. My mom, as a young girl stayed there both on day visits and on sleep overs with her great aunt Anne Baillieul
and great uncle Nick [Nicholas] Baillieul. Both were children of John and Elizabeth Baillieul and neither ever married so
they remained in the family home after the death of their parents. They lived to be very elderly, Ann outliving Nick.
All those named were born in Port Hawkesbury. On the Church series
of maps you can see Peter Johns land identified. ........Lorena Forrbrigger