The 1850 Hickey Map: The Montgomery Estate on Lot 34
The 1850 Hickey Map
A cadastral survey that recorded every tenant on Sir Graham Montgomery's property—including Lawrence Kenny at No. 19 and Hugh Connors at No. 236.
Before the 1863 Lake Map placed "L. Kenny" and "H. Connors" on the commercial record, another document had already captured their presence on Lot 34. Daniel Hickey's 1850 cadastral survey—"A Plan of Township No. 34, The Property of Sir Graham Montgomery & Brothers"—is a landlord's inventory of his tenants, recording each family by parcel number, name, and acreage. It is the earliest map to document both the Kenny and Connors families as neighbors on the Montgomery Estate.
Daniel Hickey's 1850 cadastral survey of Lot 34, officially titled "A Plan of Township No. 34, The Property of Sir Graham Montgomery & Brothers." Note the Montgomery seal at the bottom right, marking this as an official estate document.
Unlike the Lake Map, which was a commercial venture sold to the public, the Hickey Map was created for estate management. It documents the landlord's perspective: who held what land, how many acres they farmed, and—through later red ink annotations—how ownership transferred over time. For genealogists, it offers something the Lake Map cannot: precise parcel numbers that connect tenant names to specific legal records.
☘ The Montgomery Estate
Lot 34 was one of 67 townships created when Captain Samuel Holland surveyed Prince Edward Island in 1764-65. Originally awarded to John Dickson in the 1767 lottery that divided the Island among British proprietors, the lot passed to the Montgomery family after Dickson's death. By the mid-19th century, Sir Graham Montgomery and his brothers controlled the entire township.
The Lot System and Tenant Farming
Prince Edward Island's unique land tenure system meant that most settlers never owned the land they farmed. Instead, they held 999-year leases from absentee landlords—effectively permanent tenancy, but always subject to rent payments. The "Land Question" dominated Island politics for over a century, finally resolved only with the Land Purchase Act of 1875. The Hickey Map captures this system at its height: every name on the survey represents a tenant family paying rent to the Montgomerys.
The map's official title tells the story: "A Plan of Township No. 34, The Property of Sir Graham Montgomery & Brothers Situate in Queens County in Prince Edward Island, True Copy from Daniel Hickey's." This was not a map for public sale—it was an administrative tool for managing hundreds of tenant families across thousands of acres.
☘ Finding the Families
The Hickey Map records tenants by parcel number, creating a systematic inventory of the entire estate. For the Kenny-Connors family history, two entries are crucial:
☘ Lawrence Kenny
Listed in the original black ink as the tenant of Parcel 19.
Later annotation in red ink: "now Thos Carroll"—indicating Thomas Carroll eventually took over the property.
The Kenny family had moved on, but the record of their presence remains.
☘ Hugh Connors
Listed in the original black ink as the tenant of Parcel 236.
Father of Margaret, Edward, and Bridget Connors—all three of whom would marry into the Kenny family between 1866-1868.
The Connors family remained on Lot 34; Hugh died there in 1890.
Detail from the Hickey Map showing Lawrence Kenny at No. 19 (50 acres). The red ink annotation "now Thos Carroll" records the later transfer of the property. Below: William Carroll at No. 20, and William Riley at No. 21 with "now John Connors" written in red—showing the Connors family expanding their holdings.
The Red Ink Annotations
The Hickey Map is a living document. The original entries in black ink record tenants as of 1850. Later annotations in red ink track ownership changes over subsequent decades. At No. 19, "now Thos Carroll" tells us Lawrence Kenny's property eventually passed to Thomas Carroll. At No. 21, "now John Connors" shows the Connors family acquiring additional land. These annotations transform a static survey into a record of community change.
Detail from the Hickey Map showing Hugh Connors at No. 236 with 84 acres. By 1880, Meacham's Atlas would record the Connors holding at 105 acres—an expansion of 21 acres over three decades of farming on the Montgomery Estate.
☘ Reading the Map
The Hickey Map contains far more than names and acreages. As a cadastral survey, it documents the physical and social landscape of mid-19th century Lot 34:
What the Map Records
Tenant Names & Acreages: Every parcel is numbered and assigned to a specific tenant with their acreage noted.
Geographic Features: Rivers, bays, roads, and the coastline are carefully depicted.
Infrastructure: Mills, schools, churches, and other community buildings appear throughout.
The Montgomery Seal: At the bottom of the map, the Montgomery family seal marks this as an official estate document.
Nautical Compass: Orientation for the survey, following standard cartographic practice.
The map's subtitle notes it is a "True Copy from Daniel Hickey's"—indicating this version was copied from Hickey's original survey. James Bevan is listed as the surveyor in archival records, suggesting Hickey may have been the cartographer who drew the final map from Bevan's field notes.
☘ Neighbors Before Kin
The significance of the Hickey Map for the Kenny-Connors story cannot be overstated. It proves that Lawrence Kenny and Hugh Connors were neighbors on the Montgomery Estate at least sixteen years before their children began intermarrying in 1866.
1850
Hickey Map records Lawrence Kenny at No. 19 (50 acres) and Hugh Connors at No. 236 (84 acres) as tenants on the Montgomery Estate.
1863
Lake Map confirms both families still on Lot 34, showing "L. Kenny" and "H. Connors" geographically as neighbors.
November 26, 1866
James Kenny (Lawrence's son) marries Margaret Connors (Hugh's daughter) at St. Dunstan's.
February 26, 1867
Bridget Kenny (Lawrence's daughter) marries Edward Connors (Hugh's son) at St. Eugene's.
November 16, 1868
Lawrence Kenny (widower) marries Bridget Connors (Hugh's daughter) at St. Eugene's.
In the small world of Lot 34—where families attended the same church, paid rent to the same landlord, and worked neighboring farms—the children of Lawrence Kenny and Hugh Connors would have grown up together. They walked the same roads to St. Eugene's Church, attended the same community gatherings, and worked the same harvests. The three marriages of 1866-1868 formalized relationships that had been building for at least two decades.
☘ Selected Residents from the Hickey Map
The Hickey Map records hundreds of tenant families across Lot 34. Here is a selection of names from the survey, showing the community context in which the Kenny and Connors families lived:
| Parcel No. | Tenant Name | Acres | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | James Nobles | 52 | |
| 17 | Edward Mullins | 49 | |
| 18 | Michael Davis | 50 | |
| 19 | Lawrence Kenny | 50 | Red ink: "now Thos Carroll" |
| 20 | William Carroll | 50 | Red ink: "now Thos Carroll" |
| 21 | William Riley | 56 | Red ink: "now John Connors" |
| 22 | James Barr | 60 | |
| 23 | Michael Howlett | 64 | |
| ... | ... | ... | |
| 236 | Hugh Connors | 84 | Father of Margaret, Edward, Bridget |
The Irish surnames dominate: Murphy, Mullins, Reardon, Kelly, Whelan, Tracy, Carroll, Connors, Kenny. These families formed a tightly-knit Catholic community, bound together by shared faith, shared landlord, and shared experience of tenant farming on the Island's red soil.
☘ Two Maps, One Story
The 1850 Hickey Map and the 1863 Lake Map serve different purposes but tell complementary stories:
| Feature | 1850 Hickey Map | 1863 Lake Map |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Estate management | Commercial sale |
| Scope | Lot 34 only | All of PEI |
| Format | Cadastral (parcel numbers) | Topographical (geographic) |
| Kenny Entry | No. 19, 50 acres | "L. Kenny" (location) |
| Connors Entry | No. 236, 84 acres | "H. Connors" (location) |
| Updates | Red ink annotations | Second edition corrections |
| Access | Island Imagined, PARO | Island Imagined, Island Register |
Together, these maps provide two independent sources confirming the Kenny and Connors families as neighbors on Lot 34. The Hickey Map shows them as tenants on the Montgomery Estate in 1850; the Lake Map shows them geographically in 1863. Both predate the first Kenny-Connors marriage by over a decade, proving these families knew each other long before they became kin.
☘ Accessing the Hickey Map
☘ Research Resources
Island Imagined (UPEI)
Digital collection hosting the Hickey Map and other historical maps of PEI. Zoom functionality allows detailed examination of individual parcels.
Public Archives and Records Office (PARO)
Holds the original Hickey Map (Accession #4094). Staff can assist with locating related land records, conveyances, and estate documents.
GeoPEI Portal
Historical map viewer that allows overlay of digitized 19th-century maps onto modern satellite imagery. Useful for identifying modern locations of historical properties.
Related Land Records
The parcel numbers on the Hickey Map connect to conveyance records, lease agreements, and probate files in the PARO collection. Hugh Connors' 1879 conveyance for 105 acres and his 1890 will both reference Lot 34 property.
Archival Citation
Title: A Plan of Township No. 34, The Property of Sir Graham Montgomery & Brothers Situate in Queens County in Prince Edward Island, True Copy from Daniel Hickey's
Date: March 19, 1850
Surveyor: James Bevan
Repository: Public Archives and Records Office of P.E.I.
Accession: #4094
Physical Description: Paper map on cloth backing, 63.5 x 126 cm. Some cracking and pieces missing; ink has faded.
Related Companion Pieces
Continue the Documentary Biography
This companion piece accompanies the Kenny-Connors Documentary Biography Series. Episode 3, "From Tailor to Farmer," tells Lawrence Kenny's story, while Episode 4, "Covehead," focuses on Hugh Connors and the community they shared on Lot 34.
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