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Dictionary of Miramichi Biography

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SHEASGREEN, ISAAC (1835-1914)

SHEASGREEN, ISAAC, caretaker and superintendent of the fish hatchery at South Esk; b. North Esk parish, 21 Sep 1835, s/o Edward Sheasgreen and Ann Collier; m. 1864, Ellen Curry, d/o Hugh Curry and Mary Walsh, of Red Bank; d. South Esk, 24 Sep 1914.

One of the appropriations Peter Mitchell made as Canada's first minister of marine and fisheries was for the establishment of a salmon hatchery on the Miramichi. He was no longer in office in 1873 when the site for the station was selected at the mouth of Stewart Brook at South Esk, and the order given for the necessary dams and buildings to be constructed. When the "hatching house" was finished in the summer of 1874, it was said to be capable of producing more than half a million salmon fry annually for release into the various branches and tributaries of the river.

At the start, and until 1877 or later, the pisciculturist for the hatchery was Asa B. Willard, formerly of Bedford, N.S. Isaac Sheasgreen was the caretaker and assistant pisciculturist, but he was soon given full responsibility for the conduct of the plant, being referred to at different times as keeper, manager, supervisor, and superintendent. Controversy surrounded the hatchery in the late 1870s, as discussed in the press and reported to the House of Commons by Jabez B. Snowball, MP. The keeper's competency was called into question, as well as the statistics released by him and others, which were said to be inflated. Sheasgreen had become adept at his work by this time, however, and was able to show that the capacity of the hatchery was greatly surpassing initial projections.

In 1907 the original hatchery was demolished and a modern facility erected which had a nominal capacity of 3,000,000 fry annually. It was noted at this time that Sheasgreen had been breeding between one and five million fish each year and that his "skillful management" had represented an important contribution to the maintenance of salmon stocks. He continued in the work until his death, with his son William Sheasgreen as his assistant. In 1914 his son succeeded him, but after three years he resigned and moved to Montreal. Another son, James Sheasgreen, then became superintendent, but he died less than six months later, at which time Frank Burgess of Windsor, N.S., was appointed to the position.

Sheasgreen was predeceased by his wife, Ellen Curry. They had four sons, including Isaac Sheasgreen Jr, who was a druggist in Woodstock, N.B.

Sources

[b] census [m] official records [d] Leader 2 Oct 1914 / Advance 8 May 1879; Advocate 25 Jun 1879, 17 Feb 1909, 19 May 1909; Arbuckle; Hamilton (NE); Leader 5 Oct 1917, 28 Mar 1968, 10 Jul 1974; Roe & Colby


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