32 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
writer in his boyhood has handled it. It fell as an heirloom to one 
of his kinsmen, who is doubly connected through both father and 
mother, in whose veins flows more of his blood than in any other living 
person. During the late civil war the house of this kinsman was sacked 
by a vandal band of General Hunter. Sordid greed for silver stripped 
off the scabbard, and the naked blade alone remains to tell the tale, 
not only of adventure but also of scandalous robbery.” 
Alexander McNutt never married and his enterprising spirit was 
untrammelled by domestic ties. His brother, John McNutt, from 
whom most of the name in Virginia are descended, devoted himself to 
planting civilized life in the wilderness and to cultivating the arts of 
peace. John McNutt’s sons, however, were called upon to play a 
leading part in the wars of their generation. They fought against the 
Indians and in the war of the Revolution two of them fell in the Caro- 
linas, following the standard of General Greene during the eventful 
campaign which terminated in the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. 
The descendants of John McNutt have contributed largely to the 
service of their country and have included such men as Alexander G. 
McNutt, governor of Mississippi; General A. G. Jenkins, who fell at 
Cloyd’s Mountain during the Civil War; General E. Frank Paxton, of 
the “Stonewall Brigade,” who fell at Chancellorsville; Colonel James 
K. Edmondson, who lost an arm at Chancellorsville, but lived to serve 
his country in positions of the highest trust and confidence, and others 
of like reputation. 
The McNutts of Nova Scotia are descended from William, the 
second son of Alexander (Sr.) and Jane McNutt. This William McNutt 
joined his brother, Colonel Alexander, upon his first expedition to Nova 
Scotia in 1759. At this time the two brothers appear to have explored 
the “vacated lands” on the shores of Minas Basin, and to have visited 
other parts of the province where lands eligible for the purpose of settle- 
ment were situate. In the execution of his colonizing schemes Colonel 
McNutt received valuable assistance at the hands of his brother Wil- 
liam and others of his kinsmen. William McNutt married shortly 
after he removed to Nova Scotia in 1761, and with his wife, Elizabeth, 
resided on a large and valuable tract of land in the township of Onslow. 
He was accounted a well-to-do farmer in the early days of the colony. 
He was an active member of the Presbyterian church and the designer 
of the first church edifice erected in Onslow. His eldest child, Mary, 
who died August 15, 1765, was the first person buried in Onslow cemetery. . 
William McNutt was accounted a keen huntsman and in the stress 
of early days at Onslow his larder was many a time replenished when 
he returned from his excursions to the woods in quest of game. In 
addition to the daughter just mentioned, who died in infancy, he had 
