June 23, 2013
Throughout their lives, my parents had encouraged me and my siblings to learn about our ancestors on both sides of the family, and I expect they had appreciated how important that knowledge would be to us one day in looking back on our nomadic childhood and teen years. Roots. We all need them. We all have them. Somewhere. And they can be found. We just have to do a little digging, perhaps with the help of online genealogy sites. Fortunately, I didn’t have to do that, since both my great-grandfather and grandfather had a keen interest in the subject, and had already compiled and authored a book about the Savarys and their various name spellings and derivations. (See entry dated July 3, 2013 below.)
The history of my dad’s family in Nova Scotia goes back to the arrival of Nathan Savary from Massachusetts at the end of the American Revolutionary War. He had fought for the Continental Army, and after his release from it, he made it clear that he’d “fought for the redress of grievances, but not for independence”. So he came to N.S. with other Loyalists, where he married Deidamia Sabean (his second wife) in Digby in 1785.
Family Genealogy and History Sources
Their son Sabine was born in 1788, and became a leader in the commercial life of Digby as well as being instrumental in developing “the Boston trade”. I remember when my husband Dennis and I attended the “historic site” designation ceremony with my parents at the house Sabine had built back in 1820. It is located in Plympton, Nova Scotia, right across the highway from Savary Provincial Picnic Park on St. Mary’s Bay (property donated to the province in 1962). This was the home in which my great-grandfather A.W. Savary (1831-1920) was born –“lawyer, legislator, judge, and historian; Inspector of Schools, Digby County 1869-1872; Member of Parliament, Digby 1867-1874; County Court Judge for Annapolis, Digby and Yarmouth 1876-1907; author of History of Annapolis County as well as other writings”. A photograph and description of the house may be found on page 126-127 of Seasoned Timbers. Volume 1: A sampling of historic buildings unique to western Nova Scotia (Halifax, The Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia, 1972)
Besides compiling the genealogy, my great-grandfather was also responsible for the publication of the following book: History of the County of Annapolis: including old Port Royal and Acadia, with memoirs of its representatives in the provincial parliament, and biographical and genealogical sketches of its early English settlers and their families / by the late W.A. Calnek, member of the Nova Scotia Historical Society ; edited and completed by A.W. Savary, M.A., author of the “Savery Genealogy”, Judge of the County Courts of Nova Scotia, Member of the Nova Scotia Historical Society, the Wiltshire (England) Archaeological Society, and the American Historical Society. “With Portraits and Illustrations”. (Toronto : William Briggs; Montreal : C.W. Coates; Halifax : S.F. Huestis; London : Phillimore & Co., 36 Essex St., Strand. 1897)
Glued inside the front cover of this book is a newspaper clipping with the Headline: Judge Savary is Dead, Aged 89: Last Surviving Member of Fathers of Confederation Died Today.
Beside it, on my bookshelf, sits the Supplement to the History of the County of Annapolis: correcting and supplying omissions in the original volume. “With Portraits and Illustrations” / by A. W. Savary, M.A., D.C.L., editor and part author of the History (Toronto : William Briggs, 1913). In addition to memberships in the societies listed on the original volume’s title page, a few more are mentioned here, including the Champlain Society, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society (corresponding member), and the Manorial Society, England (An Honorary Fellow).
My grandfather, A.W. Savary’s son Thomas William, also had a deep connection with, and impact on, the life of Nova Scotia, his home province. Dr. T.W. Savary was the Rector and Archdeacon of St. Paul’s Church, Halifax for eighteen years (1930-1948), but that’s another story, which I will add to very soon. As you can see, my roots in Nova Scotia run very, very deep!
July 3, 2013
My Main Reference Source:
Savary Family Genealogy
The title page of my great-grandfather’s book contains a rather lengthy description, as you will see if you click on the photo. In spite of that cumbersome title, I’ve always enjoyed dipping into sections of the family history compiled and written by my great-grandfather. The following were some of the tidbits of information I discovered between its covers:
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- The name Savary, originating in France, means “Prince of the Sword”, and it arrived in England with the Norman invasion, sometime between the year 1086 and the last quarter of the following century.
- The French connection: In 1212, Savary de Mauleon rose in arms against John of England in Poitiers, and Pierre Savary was one of the arbitrators or ambassadors on behalf of the French king in negotiating the peace that followed.
- Savary, Duc de Rovigo was Napoleon’s minister of police and “most devoted adherent”.
- “Thomas Savery of Shilston, ‘Captain of Engineers’, whose merits as the true inventor of the steam engine, long eclipsed by the later glory of Watt, [is] now receiving a tardy recognition.”
- “Several distinct traditions in the Plymouth branches represent the early Saverys as remarkable for greatness of stature, aquiline or Roman nose, and black hair contrasting with blue eyes …” (So that explains it! My nose, that is!)
Nathaniel Savory of Massachusetts
- Nathaniel Savory was born in 1794, and in 1830, he embarked on an adventure by sea. He fitted out at Oahu, one of the Sandwich Islands, then sailed to and made a settlement on Peel Island, one of the Bonin Islands in the North Pacific. Chambers Encyclopaedia describes the former Japanese island as having a “motley colony–an Englishman, an Italian, a Dane, two Americans and fifteen Sandwich-Islanders…under
Ancestral Links to the Bonin Islands
the auspices of a ‘union jack’.” A member of Commodore Perry’s expedition to Japan in 1858 wrote, “…One Nathaniel Savory, a New England Yankee, is looked up to as a sort of patriarch of the people.” Then further on, “… he has constructed a still and is famous for making the best rum in all the Bonins.” An article in the July 1968 volume of the National Geographic Magazine discusses the return of the Bonin Islands and Iwo Jima to Japanese ownership, and there are Savory descendents mentioned on practically every page.
M.E. Pilkey (Peggy) 
Hi…My only knowledge of Savary House-Gardenia Lodge comes from two sources. On the Savary side of the family, there is a write-up about the house and photo in the book, Seasoned Timbers: A Sampling of Historic Buildings Unique to Western Nova Scotia, Vol. 1 published by the Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia in Halifax, N.S. in 1972. It would probably be available in local N.S. libraries, but if you live outside the province, you could likely get the page faxed to you by staff at the Nova Scotia Provincial Library. My second source has filled in a lot of gaps for me in my own research and that of others. Her mother is the current owner of the house. Check this thread of comments for Francoise Barnes Bonnell’s comment of Mar. 5 (about five or so ahead of this one). In it, she explains the Garden connection to the home and to the Savary family, which I had always wondered about before. I would recommend you ask her directly (via “Reply”), since her relative donated the land for Savary Provincial Park, and she and other family members continue to spend their summers there. I hope this helps.
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Hi, im looking to get some information on the house as well as the park. as my nephew is interested in doing a heritage fair project on the Savary’s. Was hoping maybe you could point me in the right direction
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Sorry I didn’t get around to replying sooner, Francoise. I had a bad fall two weeks ago, and the main effect of it was to have a deep cut in the index finger of my left hand; it required six stitches, and I was told I’d have to wear a customized splint–three different ones–over the course of six weeks because the same finger was also fractured. I wasn’t able to type, and I’m hopeless doing it with one finger, so I tried to follow the ER doctor’s advice and stay away from my laptop for a while. Thanks for your suggestions on how to preserve old photographs and their albums. You certainly have a lot of experience with preservation methods, and I appreciate the tips you gave me re: how to go about dealing with my grandparents’ honeymoon trip album. It’s too bad that Annie Neve Savary had glued the photographs into it, and because of the writing (white on black), I’ll follow your advice to photograph entire pages, making sure to number them in the correct order.
Do you think you might have an Open House, or other commemoration during the 200th Anniversary? Let us know if you do. My understanding had been that the house was built in 1820, so the possibility that part of it could have been built before that date came as a surprise. Months ago, I’d had a passing thought of taking my two sons and daughter-in-law for an overnight stay in Annapolis Royal so that we could introduce Ashley to Savary Picnic Park and places that were significant to Chris’s great-great grandfather. She had signed up for a trial period on Ancestry.ca, and that sparked her interest in our family history. The boys haven’t been there since they were children, during which time we would spend a week in the summers at my parents’ home in Weymouth. (1975-1980) (Of course my “boys” are now middle-aged men!) Anyway, time to give my finger a rest. Thanks, again, for all your help with questions of both the Savary and Garden genealogies!
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Thanks, Francoise, for your detailed response. which filled in a lot of gaps in my knowledge, too. I had always wondered how and when the Savarys and Gardens ancestral lines had become connected, and in what way, and now I know! I’ll have to pass this information along to the rest of my family, though maybe my brothers were aware of this information already. I’ve been going through my grandparents’ honeymoon album of 1905 (Thomas William Savary and Annie Edna Neve’s), which includes many photos of their trip across Canada from Fort William (now Thunder Bay, Ontario) by steamship and rail to Halifax on the east coast. My father’s mother–Annie Edna Neve–died seven years later, a day after his birth, so there is a certain poignancy each time I turn a page. Several of the photos are taken in NB with references to the family home, a cottage visit and so on, and of course there are pictures which include the house in Plympton, scenes of Digby, the home in Annapolis Royal, and family in Wolfville. I’m at a loss how to treat this treasure, because the leather binding, now one hundred and thirteen years old, is crumbling every time I pick it up. The photos had been glued into it by Annie Neve, and her handwriting beneath them is done in white ink. My thought is to donate the album to the Nova Scotia Archives, or perhaps the museum in Annapolis Royal. I have taken photographs of the Maritime-specific ones, and intend to create an Album on my Facebook page where I can post some photos of my grandparents and scenes of Halifax, as well as others over time. (Their honeymoon album also includes images of Toronto, Kingston, Ottawa and Quebec City.) Thank you again for your thorough answer to Caralyn’s question, and thanks, Caralyn, for asking it!
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Hi Peggy,
It sounds like you have a wonderful album of family history. It’s always hard to decide what to do with original documents from the family. I work in a museum with old albums, documents, newspaper clippings etc. One of the thing that destroy’s photos is the paper they’ve been affixed to in an old album because the paper is almost always acidic. The best thing to do is remove each picture and leave them loose with a piece of non-acid paper between each one. However, this can be tricky…if your grandparents have notes next to each photo you don’t want to lose that or the order in which they were put into the album…you might not know if it was done chronologically, topically or by location, and once you pull it apart that sense has been lost. So, what we sometimes do, is take a picture of each album page to be able to have a record of the order of the items and then take it apart, marking on each photo in a No 2 pencil on the back what was written below it. BUT, if you don’t want to do this, or if the pictures are glued and can’t be removed without ruining them, then I would recommend putting a sheet of acid free paper between each page of the album so the pictures at least don’t touch each other. You can also take the pages out of the leather binding so it doesn’t continue to fall apart and damage the album. You don’t have to buy special paper…almost all copy paper today is acid free, just make sure it says so on the package. Scanning the ones you treasure most is still a good idea. I have a very large collection from the Savary-Garden’s dating back to 1800 and have scanned much of it over the years. A few of the original photos are almost completely faded away, but at least I have a picture of them. Whatever you do, place the album in a large plastic bag—like a 2 gallon size ziplock, but DO NOT seal it. They need air, and then make sure to store it in a dry, cool and dark place in the house.
I think it is a great idea to donate it when you are ready to. I recommend to people that they seek out the most “reliable” archive…that is the one you think can 1) be around the longest, 2) properly take care of your collection and 3) make it accessible to the public. A little research on the internet, or talk to the place first, ie the Annapolis museum, or NS archive to determine what reassurances they can give you. One last thing, you can’t always expect the archive/museum you give it to to do what I recommended above. So if you do it before donating it, that will help them too!
I hope we can get together sometime one of these summers to share the history. 2020 will be Savary House-Gardenia Lodge’s 200th anniversary (although i have discovered that the original part of the house was most likely built in 1788 or a little earlier–where Nathan and Deidamia Savary had Sabine and the other’s that followed (Sarah, born 1786 was most likely born in Weymouth or “Sissiboo” in Nathan’s father-in-law’s house).
Best,
Francoise
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I came across this site while researching my Mom’s Garden genealogy. James R. Garden (1827-1901) was her 1st cousin, 3 times removed. His grandfather was William Henry Garden b. 1749 Aberdeen d. 1812 Kingsclear, New Brunswick. Some people believe that he was the son of Alexander Garden, the botanist for whom the Gardenia was named. I haven’t been able to find any proof of this but found it interesting that the name of the house was “The Gardenia Lodge.” I was wondering if you knew where it got it’s name?
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Thanks for getting in touch. My father’s grandfather, A.W. Savary, was the son of the builder of the house, Sabine Savary. In my family, it had always been known as “Savary House”. In the book Seasoned Timbers: A Sampling of Historic Buildings Unique to Western Nova Scotia, Vol. 1 the second sentence in the opening paragraph states that “The present owner, Mr. Humphrey Garden, is a great-grandson of the builder, Sabine Savary.” I was at the formal ceremony in 1990 when Gardenia Lodge-Savary House was designated a heritage property. You may have noticed the name Francoise Bonnell near the top of this thread. If you read her reply to me, you will find that her great-great-grandmother’s sister, Eliza Helen Savary married James Garden. I expect she would have the answer to your question, which I hope would reach her if you click reply directly beneath it and ask. I’m curious to know the answer myself! Meanwhile, I’ll try to find my copy of the speech that was made at the heritage site designation ceremony, in case the origin of the name “Gardenia Lodge” is explained, too.
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Hi Peggy and Caralyn,
I have done some research on the Garden side. First, Savary House (known also as Gardenia Lodge) was inherited by Alfred William Savary Garden the great grandson of William Henry Garden (1749-1812) of Kingsclear, NB. (It is from him that my father, Thomas Garden Barnes, AWGS’ grandson, inherited the house.) AWSG’s mother , Eliza Helen Savary married a Garden–this is where the Garden-Savary line join. When AWSG, my Great Grandfather, took on the restoration of the house and old farm in Plympton, NS in the 1930s he named it Gardenia Lodge in honor of the botanist Dr. Alexander Garden of South Carolina. AWSG and his namesake uncle, Judge Alfred William Savary, son of Sabine Savary and builder of the house, were very much into genealogy which no doubt influenced the naming of the house after the plant named after the ancestor. However, the link to the SC line is not clear. William H Garden was NOT the son/grandson of Alexander Garden of SC. I believe instead he is the son of a John or Hugh Garden, a brother of the botanist in SC; their father was a Rev. Alexander Garden but not the one in SC, rather from Birise, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. William H Garden, born in Scotland, went to the colonies, at some point to New York where he married Jane Rapelye in 1782. From there, as a loyalist, he immigrated to NB in 1783-85 time period. This might have been via the SC Garden’s but I havven’t found that association.
That’s the long of it…I’ll let you know if I find anything, and by all means let me know if you do!
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Hi Francoise,
Thank you so much for the information! I thought the name must be significant. There is so much conflicting information on Ancestry, but I had also heard that there was a connection to a Reverend Alexander Garden (and not the one in South Carolina). All this was new to me when I started researching my family in 2013. I wish we had a genealogist in the family! I have had both my parents take DNA tests which have helped fill in the gaps and find connections.
Caralyn
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I am certainly on a journey, having connected with distant cousins descended from Nathaniel Savory on the Bonin Islands. I reconnected with a first cousin here in Ontario who is also researching the Bonin Island branch and we are sharing information. I have also started tracing the family back through New England and into the United Kingdom. I am fascinated with this family
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It’s wonderful that you’ve been able to connect with descendants of the Bonin Island Savorys. I always found the story of Nathaniel and his fellow adventurers there a fascinating one, even though I don’t seem to be directly related to him. If you find any connection with the Savarys of Wiltshire, England, I’d love to know more about that. Nathaniel was the sixth generation descendant of Robert Savory, and I guess there was speculation that Robert Savory may have been the son of a William Savery, who travelled over to R.I. on the ship “The Mary and John” following the path of a Thomas Savery who had arrived in Plymouth a year earlier. I may be confused about those details, and would welcome comments from anyone who would be able to enlighten me! Thanks for getting in touch again!
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I am just beginning to get into this but I think there may be a connection to the Savory’s of Wiltshire. according to Find a Grave: Robert Savory b1630 maybe in Hannington parish England (Could be Wiltshire might also be Hampshire as there seems to be Hannington in both shires) d1690 returning home from the expedition against Quebec. He was married to Mary Sawyer – their son William b 15 Sep 1659 married Hannah Southworth – their son Robert b 1694 married Rebecca Chase – their son Chase Savory b 1723 married Priscilla Hardy -their son Benjamin b 1762 married Judith Burbank and their son Nathaniel b. 1794 was the one who settled in the Bonin Islands. I think the line is correct I have been trying to cross reference by using on-line Savory genealogies, but am not very far along. I find that there were many Savory men with the same first names and things get confusing. Hope this does not make things muddier.
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Wow! You’ve obviously done a lot of research on this. Thanks so much for passing these details on to me and to anyone else who finds this page. Perhaps it’ll attract a few more comments from others with connections to Nathan “the adventurer”!
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My Grandmother was Agnes SAVORY, grand-daughter of Nathan Savory who was one of the original settlers of the Bonin Islands (as mentioned in the original posting) – I am just recently learning about the Savory family history.
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Thanks for getting in touch, Nan. I was fascinated by the article about the Bonin Islands in the National Geographic published decades ago, and never expected to hear from anyone with a connection to the adventurer Nathan Savory. It’s amazing how the Internet has changed all our lives, and our ability to explore our ancestral roots. Enjoy your research; I hope you’ll continue to uncover new and surprising stories from your family history!
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Thank-you for your reply, I am working on the theory that Jeremiah Saben is in fact from Berwick, Maine. There is a baptism record and military record for Jeremiah from Berwick. I am also looking at the possibility that Susannah LaVally’s last name was other than LaVally possibly Labarre or Libby. Those names are prominent in the Berwick, ME area during the time in question. A Libby family history has Susannah Libby born in Berwick, however there is little information about her. I am hoping DNA data will some day answer the question as to where our Jeremiah came from. The search continues.
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I’ve found references to three possible spellings of Susannah LaVally’s surname in my great-grandfather’s genealogy: Levalley as one word, Lavallee (with an acute diacritic over the first ‘e’) and Le Valley as two words. I hope you find answers to your questions about Susanna’s lineage. Maybe you are on to something with the suggestion that her name could have originally been Labarre or Libby. Best wishes.
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My research regarding my theory that Jeremiah Sabean married Susanna Libby, using DNA, appears to be fruitful. My mother’s DNA matches and and triangulates with several Libby’s from Berwick, Maine.
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Hi,
Nathan and Deidamia and one of their infant children, Lemuel, are buried on the old homestead property. It was placed on a rising across the road from the house above Savary Cove and at the mouth of Savary Brook where it flows into St. Mary’s Bay. It is completely accessible to the public. When my great-grandmother donated the property in 1968 for the provincial park, known as Savary Park now, a stipulation was that the cemetery had to be maintained and a path cut to it. It is located near the last bend in the park road before going up the incline to the exit. I share this with you and others in hopes that it will be visited by their descendents. The remainder of the Savary family, and the Garden’s and now Barnes’, since my father died in 2010, are buried in the Anglican cemetery behind Wilson’s hardware in Digby in the family plot. I will send a picture to both to you and Peggy to use or post. I am in Plympton at least twice a summer with my mother.
Francoise Barnes Bonnell
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Thanks for passing on this information, Francoise. It’s nice to know where the various grave sites are located. When Dennis and I make a trip down that way again, we’ll have a better idea where to find Nathan and Deidamia’s burial site. I’m sure other readers of this thread are learning as much from you as I am. Please give my regards to your mother. I remember her giving us a tour of Gardenia Lodge/Savary House, and being impressed by your parents’ ongoing restoration of it, while adhering to historical accuracy in the details. Enjoy your summer!
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Hi,
I am related to the Gardens through my 3rd great grandfather Col. William Henry Garden (1749-1812). Some of the trees on Ancestry have his father as Alexander Garden, the botanist for whom the gardenia was named. I can’t find any proof of this, but I found it interesting that the Savary House was called Gardenia Lodge. I was wondering if you knew where the name came from?
Caralyn Robinson Zeitler
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I, too, am related to William Henry Garden and I am also looking for proof of his relationship to Dr. Alexander Garden. My father and his brothers have told me that William was a son of Dr. Garden….but no proof.
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I am a descendant of Abraham Brooks and Susannah Sabin daughter of Jeremiah and Susanah LaValley. When I applied for membership in the Mayflower society as a Billington descendant I was told by my state historian that the Jeremiah and Susan LaValley connection was too circumstantial. to be accepted. I was wondering if other Sabean descendants through this line have been accepted by the Mayflower Society ?
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My apologies for not answering this question so many months ago! I didn’t have an answer to it, and had intended to do a little research on the topic, but I still haven’t come up with an answer. In my great-grandfather’s supplement to his Savery and Severy Genealogy, he mentions that the line of descent that he’d given earlier for Nathan’s second wife Deidamia is wrong. (“…daughter of Jeremiah Sabin, fifth in descent from William, of Rehoboth, Mass., through Benjamin(2), Jeremiah(3), Jeremiah(4)”)…”Her mother’s name was Susanna Levalley or Lavallee, whose paternal ancestors were either Huguenots, directly from France, or from the Channel Islands, among the colonists who founded Marblehead.” In the supplement, the author says Jeremiah Sabin was not the Jeremiah who came to Nova Scotia, for “he removed from Pomfret, Conn., to Pawlings, Dutchess Co., N.Y., where he married and had children”. Quote: “I am unable to place the Jeremiah who married Susanna Le Valley. He came to Yarmouth County with his wife and older children about 1765, and later removed with his eldest son, Jeremiah, to Wilmot, Annapolis County, where he died soon afterward, very aged.”–A.W. Savary. Confused? I am, too!
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Judge Savary was the father of my great-grandmother Margaret Savary. She married my great-grandfather Athlon Rooney. She passed away when my grandfather Clayton Rooney was a young child. Have seen the book. Would like to know if there is any way to get a copy of it
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Thanks for getting in touch, Lorraine. In answer to your question, the book is now available in digital format. I did an Internet search, and found a link to a site from which you can order a CD-ROM: https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/1527465?availability=Family%20History%20Library. I also noticed that Google scanned the full text of the original book–“A Genealogical and Biographical Record of the Savery Families (Savory and Savary) and of the Severy Family (Severit, Savery, Savory and Savary): descended from ….” at https://archive.org/stream/agenealogicalan00smilgoog/agenealogicalan00smilgoog_djvu.txt The supplement is also available at those sites. If you would prefer to own a print copy, it’s possible you’ll find a copy at a website dealing in rare books. I hope you’ll find what you’re looking for.
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Hello, I’ve been trying to locate a photo of the gravestone for Nathan and Deidamia Savary located at Savary Park in Plympton. I’m not sure if one exists or if I can pay to have one taken. I, too, am a direct descendant. I was hoping you might be able to point me in the right direction. Thank You.
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I’m sorry I don’t know where it might be located, but I’ll try to find out. Francoise Bonnell, an earlier commentator on this thread, has a direct connection to this conversation. Her mother and siblings are owners of the original Savary homestead built in 1820 by Nathan and Deidamia’s son Sabine. The heritage property is known as Gardenia Lodge, Savary House, and is opposite Savary Provincial Park which you mention. I believe there may be a grave site on the property itself, and it’s possible that Nathan and Deidamia are buried there, or in the old graveyard in Digby. Please let me know if you find a definitive answer to your question. I’ll keep checking, too.
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There are pictures on the site for Savary Park or if you live handy the gravesite is in the center of the park but a bit difficult to find. I have taken several pictures and have complained that the site is not well kept. I live in Ontario and get down during the summer.
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Hi Kathy,
Thanks for your comment here. I just wanted to copy/paste Francoise Barnes Bonnell’s post which gives more specific details about the gravesite (s). I hope she won’t mind, since it’s further back in the thread. Here are her exact words:
“Nathan and Deidamia and one of their infant children, Lemuel, are buried on the old homestead property. It was placed on a rising across the road from the house above Savary Cove and at the mouth of Savary Brook where it flows into St. Mary’s Bay. It is completely accessible to the public. When my great-grandmother donated the property in 1968 for the provincial park, known as Savary Park now, a stipulation was that the cemetery had to be maintained and a path cut to it. It is located near the last bend in the park road before going up the incline to the exit. I share this with you and others in hopes that it will be visited by their descendents. The remainder of the Savary family, and the Garden’s and now Barnes’, since my father died in 2010, are buried in the Anglican cemetery behind Wilson’s hardware in Digby in the family plot.”
I’m so sad to hear from you that it hasn’t been maintained very well. I plan a visit down that way sometime in the next few months, and will check it out myself. Thanks again, for posting your comment.
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I’ve done extensive research on the Sabin side too. Of course the tough part are the spellings. So, Sabin was the original name, with other spellings are Sabine, Sabean. Daedamia Sabin’s father, Jeremiah Sabin “Jr.”, was born 1732 in Berwick, York, Maine, USA. He died in 1815 in Port Lorne, Annapolis, Nova Scotia. He descended from another Jeremiah Sabean, born in Rehoboth, MA who was married to Mary Abbot. He is a direct descendent of a Plymouth Colony founder, and descends from the Israel, Samuel and William Sabin line. He moved to Berwick, ME where he met Mary. Jeremiah (Daedamia’s father) arrived from ME in 1762 in Nova Soctia with his wife Susanna. Not a loyalist (in fact he and his brothers/sons went on to start the first congregationalist/baptist churches in the area), rather one of the many settlers who migrated to Canada in search of land and opportunity. This is probably the same reason why his father had moved to ME from MA. (As the extended families got so big, they literally ran out of land to subsist on.). Most of these settlers like Jeremiah, and his brother Willoughby, took the land that was abandoned by the Expulsion of the Acadians in 1755. Jeremiah Sabin owned Lot 17 in “Sissiboo”, i.e. Weymouth. His sons/brothers had adjacent ones. Unlike Nathan Savary, Jeremiah’s land was granted through the Conway Grant (1783), which then was re-drawn as the Hatfield Grant (1801).
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Thanks for posting your findings on the Sabin, Sabine and Sabean line of descendants mentioned above, and clarifying their intentions for settling in Nova Scotia. I’m learning a lot from this discussion. I had just assumed all the settlers from MA around that time were Loyalists, but you have taught me that they were running out of land to subsist on. Sad that some of their land grants were previously owned by the Acadians prior to their 1755 Expulsion from Nova Scotia and other areas of the Maritimes. They endured a great loss of language and culture when the British forced them to abandon their farms and their homes to leave for the colonies, or alternatively, accept passage back to France. I’ll have to research the Conway Grant of 1783 and the Hatfield Grant of 1801 to learn more about this subject. Thanks for providing some answers to all of us following this thread. I’ll see if I can find out anything more about Elizabeth Nye and her offspring, too.
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My husband descends from Jeremiah Sabin – Deidamia Sabin’s father. I have relatives in Plympton area and am interested learning more about Deidamia and Nathan Savary.
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Thanks for getting in touch, Monica. Do you own a copy of the Savery and Severy Genealogy [Savory and Savary] I mentioned above? Apparently it’s available on DVD now. Pages 15-16 of my great-grandfather’s supplement–following the indices at the back of the book–corrects a page about Nathan and Deidamia (whose mother’s name was Susanna Le Valley) that appeared in the original, and describes the marriage of their eldest daughter Sarah to an Acadian whose surname was Thibault (Later Tibbitt and Tibbitts). Of course the entries continue in great detail about her offspring and their marriages. I would have to dig a little deeper to find out about Deidamia Sabin’s father, since my great-grandfather said the original line of descent he’d given was wrong (on pg. 34). He couldn’t place the Jeremiah Sabin who married Susanna Le Valley, but knows that he moved to the Sissiboo River area around 1765, then left with his eldest son Jeremiah to Wilmot, Annapolis County and died soon after. I’m sorry I don’t know anything about the Savary families who may live in the Plympton area today. My late parents used to attend Savary family reunions once a year held at the provincial site, Savary Picnic Park, opposite the old homestead, back in the late 1970’s when they were retired in Weymouth. My family here in Halifax had always hoped to attend someday, but the timing was never quite right for us. Would be interested in hearing more about your family connections!
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I too am a descendant of Nathan Savary and his son Nathan ” the younger” . Nathan the younger had a son John Dean Savary who was married twice. My Grandfather was born to his second wife and his name was Charles Savary. His daughter Lillian is my mother. My mother has written a book of her memoirs and in it she has outlined several ancestors. One of these was Deidamia Sabin. She was the daughter of Jeremiah Sabin and Susanne LaValle and she was the first white child born in Sissiboo. Kathy Gardipy
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Hi Kathy…I’m glad your family is keeping up with the Savary ancestral roots, too, and wondered if it’s possible to get a copy of your mother’s memoirs, or specifically, any sections that are relevant to our conversation. Did she write them for her immediate family only, or is it available for purchase on Amazon? Thanks. Enjoy your summer!
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Hi Francoise…Nice to hear from you! Are you related to Tom and Jeanne Marie Barnes of Berkeley, California? (I wonder if they are still alive, since my own mother died over a decade ago and my father ten years earlier.) The last time my husband and I drove by Savary House-Gardenia Lodge, we noticed the closed gate, and wondered if any family members still travel to NS from the U.S. in the summertime to enjoy the property. We always admired the Barnes family for having restored the place so beautifully.
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Hi Peggy,
Yes, those are my parents. My father died in 2010, and is buried in the “Savary Family Plot” in Digby. My mom still goes (as we do) every summer. We are working on restoring the barn now. The gate is closed because of the dogs!
I am still searching for info/date on the death of Elizabeth Nye Savary. Their children were young enough that they must have been left with a guardian, or perhaps the boys apprenticed to a family.
I’ll check back to see if anyone else finds anything.
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I wondered if you had found any more information regarding Elizabeth (Nye) Savary?
I’ve searched high and low for several decades, and have found no mention of her in public records or in family histories, after Nathan departed MA for NS.
Several of Nathan and Elizabeth (Nye) Savary’s descendants have contacted me regarding this vexing issue; and after considering what THEY understand happened – I’ve concluded that: 1) Elizabeth passed away before Nathan’s departure – possibly while giving birth to Aaron, or 2) Nathan and Elizabeth were divorced, or 3) Nathan was driven away/abandoned his first family.
Obviously, we are still searching . . .
Torrey Welch
Rocklin
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Hello Peggy and Torrey,
I too am a descendent of Nathan Savary…Peggy your great grandfather (AWSavary) was my Great great grandmother’s sister, Eliza Helen Savary, who married James Garden. We must have met at the ceremony at Savary House-Gardenia Lodge when it was designated a heritage property in 1990. I too was there with my parents.
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Nathan Savary is also one of my ancestors. Through him, and his wife Deidamia Sabin/Sabean (through their daughter Sarah Savary). You and I can trace our family tree back to John Billington and William Brewster, who were aboard the “Mayflower”, when it came to Plymouth in 1620. Nathan Savary had another family before he came to NS. His first wife was Elizabeth Nye, and they had several children. I wonder if you know anything about Elizabeth; and whether she had died, or whether they divorced, or . . . ? I have not been able to find anything about Elizabeth (Nye) Savary after Nathan departed from Rochester, MA in ~1783.
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Thanks for getting in touch, Torrey. The only reference I could find to Elizabeth Nye is on page 34 of my great-grandfather A.W. Savary’s genealogy of the family, referenced in my July 3, 2013 entry above. Under the heading for Nathan Savery, I found the following: “…married, 1st, Elizabeth Nye, who is said to have been descended from a Percival family of rank in England; she left an honorable memory affectionately cherished by a respectable posterity…” Perhaps “left an honorable memory” is a gentler way, in those days, of suggesting she died.
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