Machias Seal and its ownership was not an issue until 1947 when Judge John Dudley of Calais was doing some research concerning lobstering rights along the eastern Maine coast. It was pretty well accepted that the Canadians owned Machiss Seal based on their establishment of the light station. He told me he was surprised when he couldn't find the island actually listed by name on any legal papers, treaties, etc in Canada. He then went through the historical land records of Maine and discovered that the island was not included or mentioned in any U.S. documents. It apparently was not listed by name anywhere. It was determined that in a technical sense it was one of the few truly unclaimed pieces of land. It was then that the Canadian government who first listed the island by name on various documents based on the construction of the lighthouse.
Local history says that the boundary in the Passamaquoddy Bay area was established when Daniel Webster met with British/Canadian counterparts and actually sailed down Passamaquoddy Bay on an inspection tour. The night before he had been royally wined and dined at St. Andrews, N.B. The next day was windy and rough and Webster was so hung over and so sick that he agreed to the shortest, calmest route down the bay, that being closest to the Maine shore. As a result all the islands in the bay ended up on the Canadian side. When they got to Lubec they started across to Grand Manan but Webster was content to stay close to land so everything east of their course, Grand Manan, Machias Seal, ended up where they are today.
By-the-way, the first regular tours to Machias Seal were run by Purcell Corbett, my wifes uncle, who is still alive in Cutler today, in his mid 90's but not well.
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