Getting To Know: New Brunswick I:
by F.E. McConvey
Published 24 February 1988
Webmaster notes: April 16, 2007: in the orginal publication of this article there were maps F.E. had done showing the different counties in NB. I do have the files, however, these images will be posted at a later time. While the drawing are in good quality, I am going to scan them and adjust them for the website article and also for the printable file. Please be patient and I will get these up as soon as possible.
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In order to locate the records pertaining to our ancestors, it is necessary to know, in very specific terms, where they lived. Since the formation of this province in 1784, the counties and parishes have change on several occassions. Therefore, we shall follow the alteration of these lines to assist you in the research of your family history.
During the period fo time when the area was dominated by the French, they regarded our Maritime Provinces as Acadia. After King James I of England issued a land grant to Sir William Alexander in 1621, the British refered to this land as Nova Scotia, Latin for New Scotland.
These Scots established some small settlements on Cape Breton and along the Fundy coast but, because they were unsuccessful, the Scottish claims were surrendered to France in 1632.
By the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, France ceded all of Acadia, save Cape Breton to England. At a later date, the French had not been a part of Acadia; thus, the struggle for Canada was renewed once again.
the Treaty of Paris in 1763 confirmed Britian's possession of Canada and its dependencies, leaving only the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon to fly the fleurs de lis of France.
In 1760, some colonists from County Essex in Massachusetts obtained a grant of township on the St. John River where they founded the settlement of Maugerville. Around 1775 other families from New England opened up the surrounding district and the general area was know as Sunbury, Nova Scotia.
The lands about Cumberland had been previously settled by families from Yorkshire, England and others from Massachusetts.
After the arrival of the hordes of Loyalists, it was difficult to govern this vast region from Halifax. Therefore, a charter was issued to form a seperate entity to be known as the Province of New Brunswick. This name was chosen to honor King George III, a member of the House of Brunswick.
Intially, there were eight counties in the province:
| (A) St. John, (B) Westmorland, (C) Kings, (D) Queens, (E) Charlotte, (F) York, (G) Sunbury, and (H) Northumberland. Fig 1 shows their boundaries |
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| The division of Northumberland County in 1827 creast two new counties, (I) Kent and (J) Gloucester. (Fig.2) |
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| York County was the next to be sub-divided to establish (K) Carlton in 1832. Do not confuse this county with the Town of Carleton, which became part of Saint John City, (Fig. 3) |
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The year 1838 saw the splitting of Gloucester to form the present county of (L) Restigouche. (Fig. 4) Albert County (M) was taken from a portion of Westmoreland in 1845. (Fig. 5) |
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| Victoria County (N) came into existance in 1850 by partitioning Carleton County. (Fig 6). Victoria County was reduced in size to create (P) Madawaska County in 1873. (Fig. 7). Fig.7 shows News Brunswick from 1873 to the present day. |
It must be noted that the western boundary of our province was not always clearly defined as indicated by these figures. The establishment of this border was an extremely controversial subject for a number of years befor the matter was finally resolved.
In the weeks following, we shall become familiar with the parishes of these counties.
QUERIES
23. Seek parents of OLIVE BUBAR who m. MOSES HOLMES at Woodstock, NB on Aug. 5, 1818. They were parents of FRANCES (FANNY the Good) who m. EDMUCH KENNEY about 1840. FANNY d. on Mar. 2, 1919 at Mineral, NB and had 264 descendants. Who were the parents of MOSES HOLMES? Need his birthdate and place. Also same info for EDMUND KENNEY, son of ISRAEL and SUSANNA (HOOD) KENNEY.
24. HENRY STYLES b. 1802 at St. Andrews d. 1865 at Rollingdam, NB = MARGARET (MARTHA) MCCURDY c. Dec. 24, 1806 at Lincolnville, ME. Seek info on parents and siblings of HENRY STYLES. Where were the parents buried? Family story states taht part of the cemetery where they were buried in St. Andrews had a church erected over it. Can anyone confirm this story? What church?
MARTHA (MARGARET) MCCURDY had a sister DEBORAH who married EDWARD TOWERS and a brother, SAMUEL, who is buried in the STYLES lot in Rollingdam, NB. Their mother was DESIRE TRIM who later married TOWLE from Tower Hill. Require more info on all members of these families.
Did HENRY STYLES have a sister SARAH b 1804 who married ISAIAH BRIDGES? Re\quire more info on this family.
Note: In-Laws, Outlaws and Kinfolk articles have been published on this site with the permission of the St. Croix Courier. Special thanks goes to the Courier for allowing me to reprint my mother's articles.