Coat of Arms: A blue shield with a red buck lying down, on a gold fess between three gold arrow heads.
Crest: A buck's head.
Motto: Sapienter si sincere. Motto Translated: Wisely if sincerely
In the late 19th Century the Sussex Davison family added the "d". The Davidson family was part of the pre-Loyalists or "Planters" of Acadian lands in Nova Scotia. As part of the Acadian expulsion many families moved to New Brunswick. In 1813 John petitioned for 600 acres in the Parish of Sussex and named his land Apple Hill Farm.
The first inhabitants of New Brunswick were Mi'kmaq, whose dwellings extended from Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island to the southern coast of the Gaspé Peninsula.
The French established the first European settlement in 1604, calling it Acadia. Victimized by the armed conflicts between the British and French, and left to fend for themselves, most of the Acadians were deported in 1755 to the American colonies and they settled over a wide area, particularly in Quebec and Louisiana. Some returned to Acadia, only to find that their land had been given to settlers from New England. Henceforth, this area was called Nova Scotia. After the American Revolutionary War, nearly 14,000 Loyalists settled in the valleys of the St. John and St. Croix Rivers. In 1784, New Brunswick became a separate colony from Nova Scotia. |
