Tuckamore Bay

Tuckamore County

"Tuckamore County was located about a half days journey from London, by horse and cart. It was a wonderful county with rich farmlands and grazing pastures, far away from the dirt and filth that was London at that time. 

There were ten families that farmed in the Tuckamore County.

There were 2 families of Tuckers, 2 families of Johnstones, 2 families of Pikes and of course there were the Dove families and there were 4 of us. To get into all the names would be a tedious labour so we will leave it at that."

"So there were no Rideouts or Simpsons on the Rose?" Matty wondered.

Issac shook his head.

"No they came much later. They married into the Bay, once other bays and coves were homestead."

He put his pipe in the corner of his mouth.

"The local magistrate, as I said was Magistrate Campbell. As Matty would say he was a pain in my ass. 

Tuckamore Bay was one of the richest of the counties around London and we supplied about 20 percent of the fresh root vegetables and beef, pork and chickens to the London markets. We also paid more than our fair share of taxes as well. But therein lay the beginning of our issues."

"Greed?" Bill suggested. "And perhaps jealousy?"

Issac nodded.

"That would be it William. But it were not the greed of the King.

King George lll was a fair King and he did not ask more than for us to pay our fair share of the taxes, but the taxes were collected by Magistrate Campbell and as each season came, our tax would increase.

Being the Elder of Tuckamore County, I had an audience with the King and brought my concerns to his attention. He assured me that he would dispatch a royal messenger to the Magistrate and demand an audience, so that our concerns could be raised with him. 

Several months passed. I did not get an answer from King George, but I did from Magistrate Campbell. And quite an answer it was.

He presented me with a Royal Decree stating that he had the consent of the King to once again raise our taxes. Although we had never been presented with such a decree before.

Needless to say, that did not sit well with me or the other families and once again I was off to see the King. He informed me that Magistrate Campbell had asked for a small increase in the taxes and he had approved, based on the need to recruit more soldiers for the army. There was uneasy times with France, as always.

But the increase that the King informed me of was less than what had actually been inflicted on us. It seems that Magistrate Campbell had altered the document to satisfy his own needs. The King agreed to, once again, have an audience with Magistrate Campbell, but it would not be in the foreseeable future, as France was once again threatening war.

So, when I returned with the news, the families decided that it was time we exposed Magistrate Campbell for the scoundrel that he was. We approached the Magistrate with our concerns and knowledge and he assured us that all was legal and he was acting under the direct orders and protection of the King.

It was a short time after that meeting, that I was approached by the wife of young Malcolm Pike. She informed me that her husband had met privately with Magistrate Campbell and she was concerned as to what had transpired, especially since she had found a bag of gold coins hidden in their barn. When she confronted her husband, he became very violent and beat her, threatening her that if she spoke of what she had found to anyone, he would kill her.