Cheney Island

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Cheney Island
Ross Cheney White Head.png
Canada New Brunswick location map 2.svg
Red pog.svg
Cheney Island
Location in the Bay of Fundy
Geography
LocationBay of Fundy
Coordinates 44°39′07″N66°43′15″W / 44.65194°N 66.72083°W / 44.65194; -66.72083
ArchipelagoGrand Manan Archipelago
Administration
Canada
Province New Brunswick
County Charlotte
Parish Grand Manan Parish

Cheney Island is a tidal island located between Ross Island and White Head Island in the Grand Manan archipelago in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick. It is accessible by foot, at low tide. [1] It is privately owned. [2]

History

In 1768, James Boyd of Newburyport published his legal intention to go into business with William Cheney and Joseph Connick in raising livestock on Indian Island, although there is not evidence they arrived despite an apparent Grant from Halifax possibly due to the influence of the American Revolution, [3] and ultimately Cheney settled on Cheney Island in 1785 with his wife Elizabeth Swett who raised 13 children. [4] William Cheney was murdered on the island in 1803. [4]

Edward Cheney died January 23, 1835 alongside Nathaniel Bancroft, when their small boat spent an hour crashing upon a rock between Cheney Island and White Head Island. [5]

Russell's 1905 advertisement for the island Cheney Island.png
Russell's 1905 advertisement for the island

On November 27 1885, 35-year old Ophelia Cossaboom died on the island. [6]

In 1875, four fishing weirs were licensed off the island to William Cheney. [7]

In the 1890s, six eider ducks being raised by Simon F. Cheney, at his home on the island, were stolen by a visitor from Calais, Maine - but when they were later loosed from the thief's property in Calais, travelled the fifty miles of open sea to return to Mr. Cheney. [8] [9] In 1925, the Mourik family moved onto the island from the Netherlands until 1947. [10]

Capt. Warren Cheney sold the island to Edgar Russell, a native of Washington State, in April 1902. [11] S. Edgar Russell began trying to sell the island in 1905. [12]

It was purchased in the 1970s by Henri-François Gautrin Sr., the father of Quebec liberal politician Henri-François Gautrin, who built a new house on the island, as well as a smaller caretaker's home, as the former dwelling had not been used in twenty years. [4] [10]

The 1835 death notice of Bancroft and Cheney, dashed to death on a ledge between the islands as children watched. Death on Cheney Island and White Head Island.png
The 1835 death notice of Bancroft and Cheney, dashed to death on a ledge between the islands as children watched.

It had a telegraph station as of 1896, [13] and its power is provided by NB Power. [4] There is a remote-operated foghorn on Half Tide Rock, activated by any mariner clicking the radio microphone five times set to Channel 65A (156.275 MHz). [14]

References

  1. Bissett, Kevin (2017-11-03). "'It's a steal': This N.B. island can be yours for just $850,000". National Post.
  2. "Grand Manan Tourism". www.grandmanannb.com.
  3. "CXI - JAMES BOYD". carensecord.ca.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Wright, Julia (2017-11-07). "Political ties, murder and an $850K private island off Grand Manan". CBC News.
  5. Saint Andrews Standard, New-Brunswick : Volume 2, Number 19 (January 29, 1835)
  6. The St. Andrews Bay Pilot 10 Dec 1885
  7. Sessional papers of the Dominion of Canada : Sessional papers of the Dominion of Canada : volume 8, third session of the third Parliament, session 1876, p77-3https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_08052_9_8/323
  8. Smith, H. A. P. (March 1922). "An Interesting Family of Eiders" (PDF). The Canadian Field-Naturalist . 36 (3): 58–59. doi:10.5962/p.338111 via Wikimedia.
  9. "The Stolen Rare Ducks of Old Simeon Cheney". Backyard History. 19 May 2025. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  10. 1 2 "Cheneysisland". www.angelfire.com.
  11. St. John Daily Sun Apr 7 1902, https://www.oldnews.com/en/record?lang=en&record_id=record-10835-31006444
  12. The Semi-weekly telegraph : The Semi-weekly telegraph : Vol. XLIII, No. 47 (March 4, 1905)
  13. Sessional papers of the Dominion of Canada : volume 7, sixth session of the seventh Parliament, session 1896 ,page 9:236
  14. Government of Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada. "Information archivée dans le Web" (PDF). publications.gc.ca.