Early years:

Amos Seaman was born in Wood Creek, near Sackville New Brunswick on January 14th, 1788 and was the tenth of eleven children born to Zena and Nathan Seaman, who were from Swansea, Massachusets. The family moved to Lumley Hill Farm near Maccan in 1796.  There are different accounts  of how Amos first came to Minudie. One story has Amos running away from home in the middle of the night and paddling a birch bark canoe across the river from Maccan to Minudie, another has him landing barefoot with his family, both took place in 1796. When Amos was 12, he was sent to Boston to live with his maternal grandparents. He worked 4 days a week to pay for his board and attended school two days. His grandfather was a sea captain, which is how Amos began his illustrious career in the shipping industry.

  Amos Seaman in 1860

Seaman’s  Business Ventures/Accomplishments:

Amos Seaman began small trading ventures buying merchandise in the North Eastern States and shipping to the West Indies, the return trip was goods under contract which yielded huge profits. In 1806, his older brother Job joined Amos (now 18) and they founded shipping & trading business, A. Seaman & Company which started shipping hay & vegetables from Minudie to New England and the  Caribbean.  They also started an agency in Boston in 1810. Amos applied for his first land grant in Minudie in 1813 and attended night classes in Maccan, (he worked in the daytime for pay for the classes).  Seaman married Jane Metcalf from Maccan in 1814 whose parents were from Yorkshire. He built a store near the wharf in Minudie during 1816. This three storey building stocked cargoes from his ships such as; silk, cotton and jewelry and became the trading centre for the county. Amos bought his first 1/2 acre of Crown land in 1818 and built his first house in Minudie.

 Minudie Wharf in 1800's

1820’s

In 1823, Amos dissolved the partnership with his brother and carried on the shipping business by himself. He built the first bridge at Maccan and one across the River Hebert in the same year, and became a tenant of the DesBarres estate. Amos Seaman formed the Harmony Masonic Lodge in 1825 in Cumberland County, becoming Worshipful Master in 1828. During 1825 and 1826 Amos acted as an agent for Augustus Wallet DesBarres collecting rents for the quarries. Amos obtained all of the quarry leases of the Minudie estate in 1826 for 35 pound per annum, in partnership with William Flower. The leases were renewed annually at 40 pounds until the partnership was dissolved in 1833. In 1829, Amos attended his first Universalist Service in Portland, Maine

1830’s

Amos Seaman bought the whole Minudie estate from the DesBarres family in 1834 for the sum of 8,592 pounds. This included the grindstone quarries, shad fishing and 3,000 acres of marsh land known as Elysian fields (but excluded Manor farm which he purchased in 1840). Seaman is said to have paid this sum in gold, which was conveyed from Halifax to Amherst in a trunk which Amos sat upon all night to ensure safe delivery. (The trunk is on display in Fort Beausejour Museum). It was his huge success in the grindstone industry that earned Amos his nickname of the "grindstone king". Amos built his mansion in 1837. The “Homestead”, also known as “Grindstone Castle” or “Grindstone Palace”, comprised of four huge rooms downstairs and five bedrooms upstairs, as well as quarters for six servants. The house was always filled with guests from all corners of the world, including Sir Charles Tupper and Joseph Howe.

 Seaman Homestead in 1875

In 1838, after investigation by the Attorney General,  the Executive Council of Nova Scotia ordered a “Grant of Confirmation” to Amos Seaman in regard to the land disputes. (Seaman never lost a land dispute in 43 years of legal battles over purchased land). Amos built more wharves in Minudie in this year, with lumber from surrounding woods, and a lumber mill to supply his shipbuilding firm.

1840’s Onwards

Seaman petitioned the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, in 1842 to grant lease of coal seams on his 10 acres in River Hebert and worked the River Hebert and Joggins mines for a time.  (His son Gilbert worked for an extension of the railway from Maccan to Joggins, and the line was finally completed in 1888). In 1843, Amos built the first grist steam mill in the province, at a cost of 1500 pounds. By 1847 the steam mill was cutting up to 150 logs per day. Amos traveled to England and Scotland in 1846 where he was presented at court by Lord Derby and visited the House of Commons. He brought back the shorthorn cattle known as “Derby” cattle to Minudie as well as dishes and flatware for Jane. The new Catholic church St. Denis was built in 1848 on land that Amos donated. He supplied some of the lumber and paid a quarter of the cost (400 pounds). Amos had bronze bells brought over from Ireland for the churches and the school house, which he built in the early 1850’s, for his children and those of his tenants.                         

The first steam grist mill in Nova Scotia

Between 1856 and 1861 four of Amos and Jane’s sons died, (Amos Thomas, James, William and Job)  all of whom are buried in the Lake Cemetery. The Universalist Church was completed in 1863, although it is believed a church existed in Minudie much earlier in the 1840's. This fulfilled one of Seaman's dream of a church for all denominations. Amos died after a short illness in September of 1864 and Jane died a year and a half later. Both rest in the Lake Cemetery under a huge oak tree, alongside other members of the Seaman family.

  Tombstone of Amos and Jane Seaman