The Township of Londonderry, or the largest part of it, was granted to James Fulton, Esq., and nineteen others, five shares, or rights each, and to Robert Barnhill and forty-eight others, certain other rights or shares, in all sixty-nine persons. This Grant was for 53,000 acres, and is dated March 6th, 1775, and signed by Francis Legge, who was then Governor of Nova Scotia. Colonel Alexander McNutt obtained a grant of 1000 acres of marsh and upland in the upper part of Londonderry, adjoining the Chiganoise River. Anthony Caverly had a grant of 1000 acres at Debert. These grants were dated before the grant of the Township. The ten rights at Debert were divided into eleven, to make one for the Rev. David Smith, being the first settled minister of Londonderry. These first grants caused considerable trouble when they came to subdivide the Township, under the writ of partition, in 1794.
James Fulton, Esq., filled the offices of Justice of the Peace and Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for a long time. He and Edward Mortimer, Esq., of Pictou, were the first from the country to offer themselves as candidates to represent the County of Halifax. A poll was opened at Halifax, Monday, November 18th, 1799, and was closed there Saturday the 23rd. At the close in Halifax, Morris had 756 votes, Stewart 621, Wallace 596, Hartshorne 578, Tonge 392, Mortimer 109, and Fulton 86. The poll was adjourned, and opened again at Onslow, the 1st and 2nd days of December. At the close Morris had 782 votes, Stewart 626, Wallace 636, Hartshorne 597, Tonge 889, Mortimer 621, and Fulton 603. It was again adjourned, and held in Pictou from the 5th to the 13th of December. When finally closed, Tonge had 1257 votes, Mortimer 1077, Fulton 1001, Morris 1000, Wallace 888, Stewart 637, and Hartshorne 505. The four first named were returned, but Wallace protested against Tonge's return, and had it tried at the next sitting of the Assembly, when Tonge was unseated. There was a writ issued for another election. A poll was opened at Halifax, on Saturday, March 22nd, 1800. The candidates were Michael Wallace and James Kent. On Tuesday following, Kent withdrew, having received seven votes. Mr. Fulton represented the County of Halifax from the year 1799 until 1806, and Mr. Mortimer represented it from the year 1798 until the time of his death, which took place October 10th, 1819.
Mr. Fulton was born in Belfast, Ireland, in the year 1740, and came out to New England, in the year 1760, when he was 20 years old. He continued there ten years, being engaged the most of the time at surveying land. He removed to Nova Scotia, in the year 1770, and was married to Margaret Campbell, of the Folly, in 1771. She was born in Londonderry, Ireland, in the year 1754, and removed with her parents to Nova Scotia, about the year 1762. They settled at Bass River, where they reared their numerous family and spent the remainder of their days, being the same place on which their son David lived and died, and their grandson, Thomas Fulton, now resides. They had seven sons and eight daughters. He surveyed and subdivided the whole of the Township of Londonderry under the writ of Partition, and made a plan of the same. This plan is still in use.
