New Brunswick Research Outline Table of Contents Records Of The Family History Library Research Strategy Archives And Libraries Cemeteries Census Church Records Directories Emigration And Immigration Genealogy History Land And Property Military Records Naturalization And Citizenship Newspapers Periodicals Probate Records Societies Vital Records For Further Reading Comments And Suggestions This outline describes major sources of information about families from New Brunswick. As you read this outline, study the Canada Research Outline (34545), which will help you understand terminology and the contents and uses of genealogical records. RECORDS OF THE FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY The Family History Library has many of the records described in this outline. Some of the sources described in this outline list the Family History Library's book, microfilm, microfiche, and computer numbers. These are preceded by FHL, the abbreviation for Family History Library. You can use these numbers to locate materials in the library and to order microfilm and microfiche at Family History Centers. You can use the computer number if you have access to the Family History Library Catalog on computer. The “Computer Number Search” is the fastest way to find a source in the catalog. RESEARCH STRATEGY When researching in this province, you should begin by checking the following records in the order suggested: 1. Vital records 2. Church records 3. Census returns 4. Probate records 5. Land records For Acadian research, see the “Emigration and Immigration” section of this outline. ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES The following archives and libraries have collections of genealogical value: • National Archives of Canada 395 Wellington Street Ottawa, ON K1A 0N3 CANADA Telephone: 613-996-7458 • Personnel Records Unit Researcher Services Division National Archives of Canada 395 Wellington Street Ottawa, ON K1A 0N3 CANADA • Provincial Archives of New Brunswick P.O. Box 6000 Fredericton, NB E3B 5H1 CANADA Telephone: 506-453-2637 or 453-2122 Fax: 506-453-3288 • Archives & Special Collections Harriet Irving Library University of New Brunswick P.O. Box 7500 Fredericton, NB E3B 5H5 CANADA Telephone: 506-453-4748 Fax: 506-453-4595 • Centre d'archives de la Capitale 2424 Watt St. Sainte-Foy, PQ G1P 3T3 CANADA Telephone: 418-683-5784 • Le Centre d'études acadiennes (Center for Acadian Studies) Université de Moncton Moncton, NB E1A 3E9 CANADA Telephone: 506-858-4085 Fax: 506-858-4086 • New Brunswick Museum 277 Douglas Avenue St. John, NB E2K 1E5 CANADA Telephone: 506-643-2300 Fax: 506-643-2360 or 506-643-6081 • Ralph Picard Bell Library Mt. Allison University Sackville, NB E4L IC6 CANADA Telephone: 506-364-2562 Fax: 506-364-2617 • Family History Library 35 N. West Temple Street Salt Lake City, UT 84150-3400 USA Most microfilms available at the library can also be distributed to the Family History Centers. A current list of Family History Centers in your area can be obtained from the Family History Library. Computer Networks and Bulletin Boards Computers with modems can be useful tools for obtaining information from selected archives and libraries. In a way, computer networks themselves serve as a library. The Internet, certain computer bulletin boards, and commercial on-line services help family history researchers: • Locate other researchers. • Post queries. • Send and receive E-mail. • Search large databases. • Search computer libraries. • Join in computer chat and lecture sessions. You can find computerized research tips and information about ancestors from New Brunswick in a variety of sources at local, state, national, and international levels. The list of sources is growing rapidly. Most of the information is available at no cost. Addresses on the Internet change frequently. As of September 1997, the following sites are important gateways linking you to many more network and bulletin board sites: • Canada GenWeb http://www.rootsweb.com/~canwgw/cngenwebe.html A cooperative effort by many volunteers to list genealogical databases, libraries, bulletin boards, and other resources available on the Internet for each county and province. • Canadian Genealogy Resources http://genealogy.about.com/hobbies/genealogy/msubcanada.htm Lists county, provincial, and national sources; personal pages; and publications. • Roots-L http://www.rootsweb.com/roots-l/canada.html A useful list of sites and resources. Includes a large, regularly updated research coordination list. CEMETERIES Cemetery records can be very helpful. Tombstone inscriptions from many cemeteries have been copied and indexed. The Provincial Archives of New Brunswick and the New Brunswick Museum have a good collection of these epitaph transcriptions. A list of these holdings can be found in Robert F. Fellows’ Researching Your Ancestors in New Brunswick, pages 236–49 (see the “For Further Reading” section of this outline). CENSUS The early New Brunswick censuses which list names are basically Acadian French censuses. They provide relationships, ages, and names. They were taken in the years 1671, 1686, 1693, 1695, 1698, and 1701. The censuses of 1703 and 1707 provide the names of heads of households. The rest of the censuses are as follows: 1714 Head of household (for Acadia and Des Mines) 1714 Names are listed (for the Parish of Beaubassin only) 1731,1733 Head of household in Acadia 1739 Head of household (all Acadia and part of the St. John River valley) 1762,1763,1767 Enumeration (counting) of inhabitants only 1783 Head of household (St. John River valley) 1803 Head of household (Prince William parish, Hopewell, Sackville, and Westmorland) 1820 Head of household (Botsford, Dorchester) 1821 Head of household and wife (Grand Manan) 1851 Names, ages, occupations, year entered colony are listed (whole province) 1861,1871, Names, ages, occupations, religion, etc., are listed (whole province) 1881,1891, Names, ages, occupations, religion, etc., are listed (whole province) 1901 Names, ages, occupations, religion, etc., are listed (whole province) The censuses for 1851–1881 are not all complete. Returns for some parishes and sometimes whole counties have not survived. A list of the surviving census returns can be found in Robert F. Fellows' Researching Your Ancestors in New Brunswick pages 128–144 and Genealogist's Handbook for Atlantic Canada Research edited by Terrence M. Punch, pages 7–12. These censuses are available at the National Archives of Canada, the Family History Library, and local Family History Centers. Many of the earlier censuses have been compiled in various genealogical periodicals. CHURCH RECORDS Church records contain baptisms, marriages, and burials. Very few of these records are indexed and most of them are located in the parish itself. Requests for information should be addressed to the individual church. To find the name and address of a church, consult the church directory. To obtain church directories, write to: Anglican The Anglican Book Centre Anglican Church of Canada 80 Hayden Street Toronto, ON M4Y 2J6 CANADA Telephone: 416-924-1332 Fax: 416-924-2760 Baptist United Baptist Convention of the Atlantic Provinces 1655 Manawagonish Road Saint John, NB E2M 3Y2 CANADA Telephone: 506-635-1922 Fax: 506-635-0366 Some early Baptist registers are in the Maritime Baptist Historical Collection held at: Atlantic Baptist Archives Acadia University Wolfville, NS B4P 2R1 CANADA Telephone: 902-585-1412 Fax: 902-585-1748 A complete list of these records is found in Robert F. Fellows’ Researching Your Ancestors in New Brunswick, pages 226–36. These records are not available through interlibrary loan. Presbyterian The Presbyterian Church in Canada 50 Wynford Drive North York, ON M3C 1J7 CANADA Telephone: 416-441-1111 Fax: 416-441-2825 Roman Catholic Call the local diocese to obtain the appropriate information. United Church of Canada The United Church of Canada 3250 Bloor St. W. Etobicoke, ON M8X 2Y4 CANADA Telephone: 416-231-7680 ex. 4036, 416-231-5931 Fax: 416-232-6004 A great number of church registers have been microfilmed by the National Archives of Canada. A list of their holdings is found in their Checklist of Parish Registers. The registers of over three hundred Baptist, Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Catholic churches are on microfilm at the Provincial Archives which be ordered through interlibrary loan. A list of their holdings can be obtained from the archives. Many of the above-mentioned registers are on microfilm at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City or at local Family History Centers. DIRECTORIES Many New Brunswick directories up to and including 1900 are available on microfiche: Pre-1900 Canadian Directories. Ottawa, Ont.: Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions, 1988. (On 4219 FHL fiche beginning with 6360453. These fiche do not circulate to Family History Centers.) EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION Canadian Border Crossing Records The United States kept records of people crossing the border from Canada to the United States. These records are called border crossing lists, passenger lists, or manifests. There are two kinds of manifests: • Manifests of people sailing from Canada to the United States. • Manifests of people traveling by train from Canada to the United States. In 1895, Canadian shipping companies agreed to make manifests of passengers traveling to the United States. The Canadian government allowed U.S. immigration officials to inspect those passengers while they were still in Canada. The U.S. immigration officials also inspected train passengers traveling from Canada to the