From the writings of Howard Trueman-Chignecto Isthmus and first settlers
"In the spring of 1783, immediately after the close of the Revolutionary War, there came to Halifax, from Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, a tall, stalwart Englishman with his wife and family of seven children. The name of the man was Robert Colpitts, as far as we know the only one of the name to come out from the Mother Country, and the progenitor of all on this side of the Atlantic who bear the name. What his occupation or position in society was before his emigration we can only conjecture. Strange to say, there does not exist a scrap of writing which throws any light on these questions, and tradition is almost equally at fault. Later in life Robert Colpitts was a captain of militia, and it is thought he had some connection with the army before his emigration. Whatever his occupation was he must have been possessed of some means, as among the articles brought from England were things which would be counted as luxuries rather than necessities for a new settler among the wilds of New Brunswick. For instance, among these articles were three large clocks.
"Tradition says that this was not his first visit to Canada. Before the outbreak of the American Revolution he had been over, it is believed, in connection with a survey of the Bay of Fundy. At this time he had made a small clearing on what is now the Charles Trites' farm, in Coverdale, and put up a small cabin on the place. He then returned to Newcastle-on-Tyne, and closed up his business with the expectation of returning with his family. In the meantime the war between England and her American colonies had broken out, and he could not reach Nova Scotia until the trouble was settled, which was not for seven years.
From Halifax Mr. Colpitts and the two oldest boys made their way overland, walking the most of the way from there to Moncton, while the others came in a vessel soon afterwards. When they reached Coverdale the land he had improved had been pre-empted, and Mr. Colpitts had to push on. He settled at Little River, five miles from its mouth."The writer, after giving a fuller account of the family, says: "It is, we freely confess, the history of a race of humble farmers, and such, for the most part, have been their descendants; no one of the name has yet occupied a prominent place in the public life of our country. But the name has always been an honorable one, and those who have borne it have been, with few exceptions, honest, God-fearing, God-honoring men and women."
Mr. James Colpitts, of Point de Bute, is a great-grandson of Mr. Robert Colpitts.
Elizabeth was a sister to John's wife, Eleanor.