The Bass Family View Family Tree

It is not known which Loyalist brought John Bass and Margaret Dixon to PEI. John and Margaret lived in Charlottetown and had seven children born on PEI. Their children were all baptized at the St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Charlottetown between 1791 and 1811: Thomas, Margaret, John, Edward, Benjamin, David and James. After the baptismal records of their children, there is little documentation of this family on PEI. In addition to the baptismal references for the children of John and Mary, the earliest documentation for the Bass family is with John Bass who appeared in the PEI Supreme Court records four times between 1795 and 1809. In 1795, in the “King vs. John Bass,” Bass was convicted of having stolen ten pence worth of goods from Edmund Fanning.

John Bass was brought before the Supreme Court again in October of 1805. in the “King vs. John Bass,” John was accused of having stolen six deal boards to the value of five shillings. Although he pleaded not guilty, John Bass was found guilty and faced a severe punishment. He was to be taken to the public pump near the Courthouse in Charlottetown were he was to receive fifty lashes on his naked back. The final appearance of John Bass in the PEI Supreme Court records occurred in 1809. Samuel Nelson, a Charlottetown merchant, charged that John Bass was indebted to him for £8 for goods sold and delivered.

John’s final appearance in PEI’s Supreme Court was in 1809. John and Margaret’s youngest child was baptized in Charlottetown in 1811. Of the seven children, Margaret was the only child to have further documentation on PEI. Margaret married Lewis Jackson at St. Paul’s Anglican Church on the 4 October 1812. They had at least three children, who were baptized at St. Paul’s Church between 1813 and 1818: John, William and Margaret. There is no further record of any of the six Bass sons’ living on PEI after their baptismal records.

As there are no further mention of John and Margaret having lived on the Island after 1811, it can be assumed they left the Island with the majority of their family. Where they went after leaving PEI is not known.

Surnames appearing within the descendants of John Bass and Margaret Dixon:
Jackson