Beckwith, Nelson | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada

BECKWITH, Nelson (1805-1893) prepared a convincing design 'in the pure Gothic' style for the Roman Catholic Church at DORCHESTER, N.B., 1877 (Morning Freeeman [Saint John], 29 Oct. 1887, 3; 5 July 1878, 3, descrip.). His is almost certainly the same "Mr. Beckwith of Bay Verte" [i.e. Baie Verte, New Brunswick] who was credited with the design of the Cumberland County Court House, Victoria Street, AMHERST, N.S., 1887 (Amherst Gazette, 9 Nov. 1887, 4). By then, he had obtained "...the deserved reputation of being a skillful architect and builder".
Beckwith was born in Nova Scotia in 1805 and was trained in the building trades. By 1840 he was living and working as a carpenter and builder in Westmoreland County region of northern New Brunswick, near the border with Nova Scotia. In 1843 he built (and likely designed) the residence of Amos T. Seaman, Barronsfield Road, MINUDIE, N.S. near Amherst, Nova Scotia. This Georgian-style residence still stands, and is now a protected heritage site (Canada, National Register of Historic Places, cited on 26 July 2007). Beckwith later died in Boston, Mass. on 30 January 1893.