Thomas Huestis (1759 - 1851)
in Nova Scotia

Thomas Huestis was born in White Plains, NY and moved to Wallace, Nova Scotia in 1786 after the American Revolution (known to our patriot cousins as "The War of Independence"). Thomas had 11 children and many grandchildren, and most of the Huestis' in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island are his descendants. In addition, there has been a steady stream of Huestis emigration back to the USA in the last 150 years, with the result that Thomas's descendants are spread all over the continent.

The principal focus of this website is to document the Huestis family from Thomas Huestis on down to present day. I am also documenting the Huestis connection to Wallace, so you will find pictures and maps of Wallace here, as well as archival writings on life in Wallace over the past 200 years.

Thomas and his wives Phebe Mabie and Elizabeth Smith had 11 children, six boys and five girls. Four of the boys had families, and I follow them as far as I can while their descendants carry the Huestis name.

• Joshua Huestis stayed in Wallace, Nova Scotia and had a large family with many descendants, of which I am one.
• James Huestis farmed in Six Mile Road, just outside Wallace, and also had a large family, now spread all over the continent.
• Nathaniel Huestis moved to Prince Edward Island (about 30 miles by boat) and settled down to raise a large family, now spread all over Canada.
• Peter Huestis also moved to Prince Edward Island and had two sons, one of which has a large descendant line in Canada and the other moved to USA and has a very large descendant line there.

Thomas Huestis had brothers and cousins who stayed in New York after the Revolution and raised their families and got on with their lives. Those American cousins are not my principal focus but I am providing links to information on them where I can.

There are at least two other Huestis families in Atlantic Canada that I know of, and until recently they seemed to be orphan lines. A William Huestis moved from Staten Island to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia in 1798. One of our cousins, Charles Spicer Huestis has recently managed to link William to the rest of the family through William's father Edward, and Charles' research is here. You can find a lot of material in the Nova Scotia official records and community directories regarding the Yarmouth crowd.

A Philip Huestis moved to Saint John, New Brunswick as a Loyalist, and his antecedents are not well established. Curtis Mainville maintains a site on that branch but I see that the link is broken: www.huestis.net

• Thomas Huestis page
• Names List all the names and dates that I have
• Recent Images from Wallace, NS
  • at St John's United
  • significant buildings
• The Generations before Thomas Huestis from Dorset, England to White Plains, NY
• A Clash of Patriotisms The Loyalist troubles of Thomas and Phoebe Huestis
• Archival Newspaper Articles (1927) on Wallace and the Huestis Connection. Be sure to read these!

The principal goal of this website is to get past the dry recitation of names and dates of ancestors and relatives. I want to present these Huestis' as people, with short biographical sketches of them, and perhaps a photo or two. Photography was not common much before 1870 or so, so we won't have pictures of many of the early ancestors. I have managed to work up some details on some of the Huestis', in part from obituaries and newspaper articles, and in part from essays contributed from members of our family who share what they remember of their relatives. And some folks only have little snippets of information, like the one small reminiscence I can document for John, Jasper and Abigail Huestis, the youngest of Thomas' children.

Here's a list of the essays that are ready so far.

• Thomas Huestis [H1], The man himself
• son, Joshua Huestis [H12], postmaster in Wallace
• son, James Huestis [H13], who farmed in Wallace
• son, Nathaniel Huestis [H14], A PEI Huestis patriarch
• son, Peter Huestis [H14], A farmer on Prince Edward Island
• (you can find the daughters, and other sons, under Thomas' page)

Third Generation

• Edward Huestis [H122] farmer turned innkeeper in mid-life
• Richard B. Huestis [H123] merchant and boatbuilder
• William B. Huestis [H126] merchant in Wallace and Londonderry
• Rev. Dr. Stephen F. Huestis [H127] prominent clergyman
• Martin B. Huestis [H12-11] businessman and essayist
• Rev. George Oxley Huestis [H134] another prominent clergyman
• Jacob Langille Huestis [H139] master mariner, turned cabinetmaker
• Joseph Bigney Huestis [H13-11] farmer, moved to Massachusetts

Fourth Generation

• Sidney O. Huestis [H1232] quarry manager
• Rev. Charles H. Huestis [H1271] scholar and social reformer
• Arthur Edward Huestis [H1272] an insurance man
• Archibald M. Huestis [H1273] philanthropist

Fifth Generation

• Roy Huestis [H12325] banker in New Brunswick
• Ralph Ruskin Huestis [H12712] (1892 - 1969) geneticist, researcher and professor
• R. Douglas Huestis [H12723] soldier and Bell Canada man
• Wylie M. Huestis [H13811] he hated the farm
• George Oxley Huestis [H13817] farmboy to fire chief

Sixth Generation

• Gerald A. Huestis [H127121] (1920 - 2004) surgeon in California

Thomas Huestis' original house in Wallace still stands, although it has been expanded somewhat. It is in North Wallace, just across the Wallace Bay from the present town of Wallace. This picture was taken in 1991, on the occasion of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the first Methodist service in Wallace (detailed on Thomas' page).

The initial information in this website was compiled by Mr Harvey Gullon in the 1980's. Harvey compiled a great deal of information on the families who were prominent in the affairs of the Methodist church in Wallace (now St John's United) and I owe him a great deal of thanks. There are others who are contributing as well and I credit them on the pages containing the information they provide.

Here's a list of the first few generations of descendants of Thomas Huestis and two of his sons: Joshua Huestis of Wallace and James Huestis, farmer at Wallace Station.

Basically, if you are one of our family you should find a grandparent or great-grandparent on this list. No person on this list is living now. I have purposely kept the list short because it is indexed on the search engines, while the inside pages of this site are not indexed and they contain a bit more detail and more generations, including the names of some folks still alive (like me). I do not collect birthdays, only birthyears, and I tend to express the birthyear as a decade (i.e., I was born in the 1950's). My plan is that, for living people, this site will contain no more personal information than does a phonebook.

I do not have good information of the children of Thomas' two sons who moved to Prince Edward Island to make their lives and raise their families. Nathaniel had a large family, and I have some names and dates for that line. Peter Huestis also had a family and I have heard from some of his living descendants but I do not have good information on any of them. I would be pleased to hear from people with information on those lines.

Please use the search function of your browser to find names that you are researching.

Here's the main man and his family:

• Thomas Huestis [H1](1759-1851) m. 1st Phoebe Mabie (1757-1811) m. 2nd Elizabeth Smith
• Catherine Huestis [H11] (1786-1863)
• Joshua Huestis [H12] (1788-1868) farmer in Wallace
• James Huestis [H13] (1789-1879) m. Melinda Bigney farmer at Wallace Station
• Nathaniel Huestis [H14] (1793-1894) farmer on PEI
• Peter Huestis [H15] (1798 - 1871) farmer on PEI
• Phoebe Mabie Huestis II [H16] died in Texas
• Abigail Huestis [H17] (1821-1897) nm Wallace, NS
• John Huestis [H18] (1823-1900) nm Wallace, NS
• Jasper Huestis [H19] (1825-1910) nm Wallace, NS
• Charlotte E. Huestis [H1-10] (1828 - 1916) m. John Read
• Joseph Fulton Huestis [H1-11] (1837- ) probably died young

  ---

  Descendants of Joshua Huestis (1788 - 1868) and James Huestis (1789 - 1879)

• Mary Julia Ann Huestis [H121] (1816-1844) m. Stephen Fulton
• Thomas Edward Huestis [H122] (1820?- ) m. Lydia Fulton
• Richard Black Huestis [H123] (1822-1877) m. Eliza Augusta Black
• Sarah Jane Huestis [H124] (1824-1918) m. Angus Livingstone
• Catherine Huestis [H125] (1826?- ) m. William Stevens
• William B. Huestis [H126] (1828-1900) m. Adeline Jane Betts
• Stephen Fulton Huestis [H127] (1835 - 1928) m. Louisa F. Archibald
• Lydia F. Huestis [H128] (1838-1909) m. Alexander Wylie Nicolson
• Phoebe Ann Huestis [H129] (1839- ) m. 1st Rufous Page, m. 2nd A.E.C. Holland.
• Susannah Archibald Huestis [H12-10] (1841-1934) m. Samuel Henry Morris
• Martin Bent Huestis [H12-11] (1843-1931) m. Victoire Marie Johnson
• Joshua Huestis [H12-12] (1854-1859) died young
• Mary Adeline Huestis [H12-13] (1854-1925) m. Dr Evan Kennedy, MD
• Julia A. Huestis [H12-14] (1848-1933) M. Rev. John Edward Warner
• Philena Augusta Huestis [H12-15] (1850- ) missing from my records
• George William Archibald Huestis [H12-16] (1855 - 1912) m. Lydia Webster
• Almira Huestis [H131] (1815 - 1868) m. Daniel Colter
• Phoebe Catherine Huestis [H132] (1817 - 1905) m. Alexander Fleming
• Mary Ann Huestis [H133] (1819 - 1896) m. William Harrison
• Rev. George Oxley Huestis [H134] (1821 - 1905) m. Margaret Williams
• Margaret Melinda Huestis[H135] (1823 - 1903) m. George Annis
• Anna Stephens Huestis [H136] (1826 - 1907) m. William Fulton
• Hannah Highbigh Huestis [H137](1828 - 1911) m. John Cook
• James Hennigar Huestis [H138] (1830 - 1885)
• Jacob Langille Huestis [H139] (1833 - ) m. Christy Ann McIntosh
• William Stenson Huestis [H13-10] (1835 - 1864) nm
• Joseph Bigney Huestis [H13-11] (1837 - 1922) m. Kate McNutt
• Sarah Jane Huestis [H13-12] (1840 - 1909) m. John Robertson
• Nathaniel Huestis [H13-13] (1842-1867) nm. died as a young man
• Sarah Ann Huestis [H1221] (1845 - 1890) m. I.J. Hingley
• Charlotte Amelia Huestis [H1222] (1846 - abt 1885) m. Levi Langille
• Harvey Huestis [H1223] (1849 - 1911) m. Margaret Jane Smith
• Armanella Huestis [H1224] (1850-1851)
• Elsie Huestis [H1225] (1852- 1940) m. Samuel Fletcher
• Henry Fulton Huestis [H1226] (1855 - ) m. Amelia Langille
• Alexander Wylie N. Huestis [H1227] (1859 - 1896 in Providence, RI) m. Georgia E. Chisholm
• Mary Amelia Pugsley Huestis [H1231] (1850-1925) m. Arthur Davison
• Sidney Osborn Huestis [H1232] (1853- ) m. Lila Lewis
• Sarah E. Fulton Huestis [H1233] (1855- ) m. William Clifford Greenfield
• Richard B. Huestis [H12321] (1879 - ) m. Mary Hope Sutcliffe
• Ada Beatrice Huestis [H12322] (1881 - 1935) m. James Waddel Smith
• Grace Morton Huestis [H12323] (1883 - ) m. John Poole
• Vera C. Huestis [H12324] (1885 - ) m. Herbert Vickery
• Edgar Roy T. Huestis[H12325] (1887 - 1962) m. Lila Lewis
• Ida Elisabeth Huestis [H1261] (1859- )
• Joshua Huestis [H1263] infant (1864-1865)
• Frederick Warren Huestis [H1264] (c.1865-1945) m. Adeline Betts
• Harry Fraser Huestis [H1265] (1868-1932) m. Mary A.E. Fales
• Mabel Smith Huestis [H1266] (1871- )
• Lawrence Frederick Huestis [H12651] (1897-1940) m. Mary Alvira Rex (1897-1988)
• Charles Herbert Huestis [H1271] (1863-1951)
• Annie Florence Huestis [H1274] (1867 - 1957) m. Rev. George F. Dawson
• Arthur Edward Huestis [H1272] (1865 - 1929)
• Archibald Morrison Huestis [H1273] (1869-1965) m. Florence Gooderham Hamilton (1872-1955)
• Harry Ernest Huestis [H1275] (1873-1945)
• Dorothy Enid Huestis [H12711] (1889-1980) m. George Heath MacDonald
• Ralph Ruskin Huestis [H12712] (1892-1969) m. Geraldine Lilley Parke
• Eric Stephen Huestis [H12714] (1900-1988) m. Ivy M. Ramsey
• Elsie Faith Gillespie Huestis [H12722] (1893 - 1990) m. Horton W. Fellows
• Richard Douglas Huestis [H12723] (1895 - 1974) m. Marie Hinde
• Gladys Webster Huestis [H12731] (1892-1969) m. George Ashworth Fellowes
• Doris Louise Huestis [H12732] (1894-1989) m. Wilfred Gordon Mills (1866-1960)
• Florence Archibald Huestis [H12733]
• Marion "Bunny" Gooderham Huestis [H12734]
• Melissa Star Huestis [H12-11-1] (1869 - 1948) nm
• Josephine Victoria Huestis [H12-11-2] (1871- 1961) m. Henry Joseph Woodside
• George Johnson Huestis [H12-11-3] (1873 - 1931) nm.
• Ethel Stuart Huestis [H12-11-4] (1876 - 1966) m. George Butler
• Annie Campbell Huestis [H12-11-5] (1878 - 1960) nm
• Sadie Mills Huestis [H12-11-5] (1881 - 1950) m. Frederick Wright
• Albert Huestis [H1341] (1854 - 1898 ) m. Maud Baddos no issue recorded
• Elizabeth Huestis [H1342] (1858 - 1907 ) surname recorded as Troop at time of her death
• Ephraim E. Huestis [H1343] (1861 - ) builder, living in New York at 1900 census
• Theodore Brunswick Huestis [H1344] 1863 - ) also builder, living in New York at 1900 census
• Frederick W. Huestis [H1345] (1866 - ) m. Alice Orpin Huestis ( -1945) mariner, lost at sea after 1904
• Margaret Huestis [H1346] (1870 - ) m. Henry Reinhardt in August 1889
• Mary Melinda Huestis [H1347] (1855 - ) m. Benjamin Balderston in November, 1877
• George Alexander Huestis [H1348] (1852 - 1887) m. Alice Dowling
• Frederick W. Huestis [H13431] born August 1884 in New York, son of Ephraim E. Huestis of Nova Scotia
• Edith Huestis [H13432] born September 1888 in New York, daughter of Ephraim E. Huestis of Nova Scotia
• Gertrude Huestis [H13433] born September 1893, daughter of Ephraim E. Huestis of Nova Scotia
• Albert Huestis [H13434] born September 1899, son of Ephraim E. Huestis of Nova Scotia
• Mary L.G. Huestis [H13441] born April 1892 in New York, daughter of Theodore Huestis of Nova Scotia
• George O. Huestis [H13442] born June 1893 in New York, son of Theodore Huestis of Nova Scotia
• Hattie R. Huestis [H13443] born November 1894 in Nova Scotia, daughter of Theodore Huestis of Nova Scotia
• George Lemuel Huestis [H1381] (1855-1909) m. Susan Egan
• Mary Amelia Huestis [H1382] (1860-1936)
• Ella Maud Huestis [H1383] (1865-1879) m. Daniel Grant Whidden
• Wylie Mosher Huestis [H13811] (1881- )
• James Leslie Huestis [H13812] (1883-1963)
• Etta Priscilla Huestis [H13813] (1887- 1968) m. Arthur Bendell
• Lillie Huestis [H13814] (1887-1952) m. Anson P. Waugh
• Ida Seretha Huestis [H13815] (1891-1988) m. George Reid
• Clifford Grant Huestis [H13816] (1894- ) m. Ethel Matthews
• George Oxley Huestis [H13817] (1896 - 1955)
• Nina Huestis [H13818] (1900 - )

  Some names from the line of Nathaniel Huestis (1793 - 1894) on PEI

• John Strang Huestis [H141](c.1820- ) on PEI
• Thomas Payne Huestis [H142](1822- ) on PEI
• Phoebe Ann Huestis [H143](1824- ) on PEI
• Nathaniel Wright Huestis [H144] (1826- ) on PEI
• Harriet Wright Huestis [H14-11] (1842- ) on PEI
• Lewis Wright Huestis [H14-12] (1844- ) on PEI