Perhaps you have wondered about the tales and traditions passed down in your family -- anecdotes about what a card your great-grandmother was, the sturdy home that your earliest forebear in North America built with his own hands, or how it was sheerest coincidence that your grandparents first met. If you find yourself yearning to know more about these colourful characters, you're not alone.
Hundreds of thousands of people have discovered the fun and satisfaction of researching their ancestors. Family history is the fastest growing pastime in North America today. The techniques are easily learned, and no expensive equipment is required. Yet, the search for your past will lead you on the most fascinating journey you may ever take, and will reveal stories as intriguing as any detective fiction.
The lore of your ancestors will come to life as you delve into the evidence of the past. You may be able to locate the property where your family first settled. You may visit the school, church or workplace that was such a central part of their lives, or examine early documents signed by a family member. Moreover, you will form lasting ties with friends and kin you might otherwise never have known.
The idea is to begin with yourself -- the present generation -- and work backwards from the known to the unknown. This will help you verify family connections as you uncover them. It is very enticing to seek the earlier generations first, but this holds the risk of mistaking a branch line for the main line.
Your first step, then, is to gather as many details as you can from documents you have at home. Look for information recorded in the family Bible, in journals, diaries and letters. Other valuable sources are baptismal and marriage certificates, copies of wills, school records, property deeds, photographs, newspaper clippings, account books and other financial records. As you begin to compile this data, be certain to write down the source of each piece of information.
To continue your search, contact older family members. They may have additional documents or keepsakes, such as an embroidered sampler or an illuminated manuscript containing a list of family names and significant dates. Almost certainly they will have cherished stories and memories to share with you, and family traditions always hold at least a grain of truth. Once again, be certain to note when and from whom you obtained the details.
To move farther afield, you must determine approximately when and where your ancestors resided in New Brunswick. If you do not yet have these facts, your next step is to visit your local archives, historical society or library. There you may search the census and land records, directories, local histories, and other sources which will indicate when they arrived in the area, and perhaps whether they migrated there directly from New Brunswick, or spent time elsewhere.
Equipped with this information, you can write the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick which will send you a guide to family history research in this province, a list of sources for the county where your family lived, and suggestions to help you in your search.
Your research will flow more smoothly if you acquaint yourself with New Brunswick geography and history. The province today consists of 15 counties divided into parishes. This administrative structure evolved over the course of two centuries, so you will find many instances where an area was once part of a larger jurisdiction. It is important to have some understanding of this evolution, because many of the records you will use are indexed by name of individual coupled with the location where the event occurred.
New Brunswick, one of the original provinces of Canada, has a long history spanning several centuries of exploration, inward and outward migration, development and growth. Archaeological evidence shows the presence of the Native Peoples -- the Micmac and the Maliseet -- for 11,000 years. As with most of North America, explorers began to visit the shores of Atlantic Canada in the late 1500s, and a party of French wintered on a tiny island off the southeast coast of New Brunswick in 1604. To the area which today makes up most of the Maritime Provinces, they gave the name Acadia.
Within a few years private interests in France attempted to establish trading posts, and the Jesuits arrived to begin Christianizing the Natives. There followed more than a century and a half of conflict as both France and Britain sought to take control of the territory and its resources. The years of dispute came to a close in 1763, when nearly all French possessions in North America were ceded to Great Britain, including most of Acadia, or what the British called Nova Scotia.
The area rapidly began to attract colonists and entrepreneurs both in groups and individually. Scores of settlers came from the British Isles or migrated northward from the American colonies. When the Revolutionary War ended in 1783, England offered the area as a refuge for the United Empire Loyalists, those who wanted to maintain allegiance to the British monarchy. More than 14,000 such persons were brought to this area and, to govern this greatly increased population, New Brunswick was made a province separate from Nova Scotia.
Throughout the nineteenth century, many thousands of immigrants arrived in search of new opportunity, homes, property and greater freedom. The earliest came mostly from the British Isles, but later arrivals included natives of Scandinavia, Belgium, Germany, France and all parts of the Old and New Worlds.
For more than two centuries, the province has continued to welcome newcomers, while at the same time outward migration has taken New Brunswick sons and daughters to all parts of Canada and the United States, and points distant as Australia and New Zealand. Every year thousands of their relatives and descendants travel to New Brunswick to discover first-hand the home of their forefathers.
In New Brunswick the many archives, libraries, historical and genealogical societies, and research centres make it easy for you trace your ancestors. The addresses of several of the main institutions are included in this leaflet. When you write to a repository, please try to be clear, concise and to the point. Many places operate with volunteers and a modest budget, and thus have limited time to answer inquiries. You may also wish to enclose a self-addressed envelope with either Canadian postage or an international postal coupon.
In summary
- begin with yourself
- gather as many details as you can
from documents you have at home
- contact older family members
- transcribe all facts and details carefully
- record the source of all information
- visit your local archives, historical society or library
- write the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick
- protect your research from loss and damage
- use copies - never travel with original family documents
Who to Contact in New Brunswick
Provincial Archives of New Brunswick
P.O. Box 6000
Fredericton, N.B.
E3B 5H1
Location: Bonar Law-Bennett Building, Dineen Drive, University of New Brunswick Campus
Tel. (506) 453-2122
Fax (506) 453-3288
Hours: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm on Saturday. Closed on statutory holidays, Easter weekend (Good Friday through Easter Monday), New Brunswick Day (first Monday in August), and Remembrance Day (November 11). Hours may change during the Christmas and New Year period.
Government and family records, extensive collection of genealogical sources for entire province, including census, land, probate, church and cemetery records; registers of births, marriages and deaths; newspapers, local histories, and reference library.
New Brunswick Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 3235, Station B
Fredericton, N.B.
E3A 5G9
The Society has eight branches throughout the province, publishes a quarterly newsletter with query service, sponsors other useful publications and an annual workshop.
Centre d'études acadiennes
Centre universitaire de Moncton
Moncton, N.B.
E1A 3E9
Tel. (506) 858-4085
Fax (506) 858-4585
Monday through Friday, 8:30 - 16:30 & Tuesday, 19:00 - 22:00
Records of individuals and businesses, copies of government and civil records pertaining to the Acadians, genealogies, maps, photographs, newspapers, library, folklore collection.
Centre d'études madawaskayennes
65, boul. Hébert
Edmundston, N.B.
E3V 2S8
Tel. (506) 735-8804
Monday through Friday, 9:00 - 17:00
Official records, papers of individuals, genealogies, photographs, newspapers, sound archives, materials pertaining to the Northwest of the province.
Centre de documentation de la Société historique Nicolas-Denys
Centre universitaire de Shippagan
Shippagan, N.B.
E0B 2P0
Tel. (506) 336-4761
Wednesday, 13:00 - 16:00, 19:00 - 21:00; summer hours, 8:30 - 17:00
Official records, papers of individuals, genealogies, census and church records on microfilm, materials pertaining to the Northeast of the province.
Mount Allison University Archives
Ralph Pickard Bell Library
Sackville, N.B.
E0A 3C0
Tel. (506) 364-2563
By appointment
Records relating to Mount Allison University Alumni; church, business and personal records for Westmorland County, including the papers of the Westmorland Historical Society.
New Brunswick Museum Archives
277 Douglas Avenue
Saint John, N.B.
E2K 1E5
Tel. (506) 658-1842
May - August, Monday to Friday, 10:00-17:00
September - April, Tuesday to Friday, 10:00-17:00 & Saturday, 14:00-17:00
Manuscripts, books and pamphlets, political records, maps and shipping registers, biographical index, with particular relevance to Saint John City and County.
Charlotte County Historical
Society and Archives
P.O. Box 1990
123 Frederick Street
St. Andrews, N.B.
E0G 2X0
Tel. (506) 529-4248
Private papers, genealogical files relating to Charlotte County, photographs.
Saint John Public Library
1 Market Square
Saint John, N.B.
E2L 4Z6
Tel. (506) 684-1191
Microfilms of church records, census and genealogical files; family histories relating to southwestern New Brunswick.
St. Michael's Genealogical Centre
12 Alexandra Street
Chatham, N.B.
E1N 1P8
Tel. (506) 773-4497
By appointment
Church and census records, genealogical files relating to families of the Miramichi region, with emphasis on the Irish.
Carleton County Historical Society
General Delivery
Woodstock, New Brunswick
E0J 2B0
Tel. (506) 328-9706
By appointment
Private papers, photographs, vital statistics relating to Carleton County
Kings County Historical Society
and Museum
Hampton, N.B.
E0G 1Z0
Tel. (506) 832-3214
Mid-June to September, Monday through Saturday, 10:00 - 17:00;
Sunday, 14:00 - 17:00. Remainder of the year, by appointment.
Manuscripts, books and notes relating to the history of Kings County and its people.
Chaleur Regional Museum
P.O. Box 293
405 Adelaide Street
Dalhousie, N.B.
E0K 1B0
Tel. (506) 684-2903
June - August, Monday to Friday, 9:00 - 17:00; Saturday 11:00 - 17:00
Church Records, family histories, published census for Restigouche County.