Mum was terrified of thunder and lightning storms. She had a long lists of "You can't do" including: don't pet the cat, don't pick up a knife or fork, don't talk on the telephone and don't sit by the window.

If a thunderstorm rolled over the valley in the night, she insisted everyone get up and get dressed and sit and wait until the storm had subsided. Cliff said that at the first clap of thunder, she started to prepare for an upcoming disaster and her emergency plan went into high gear. Dad must have his wallet and car keys in his pocket. The front and back doors were unlocked. The oil lamp was placed on the table in the event the hydro went off and a flashlight placed nearby. Mum sat with her purse in her arms. Beside her was the tin box of important papers.

Cliff and I wondered what kind of papers would be so important that Mum had them ready to take with her in case lightning struck the house. I guess she overheard our whispering and told us the most important paper was the deed to the farm. She stated very emphatically, "If the deed were lost, there would be no record of ownership."

It has been many a year since I got up in the middle of the night during a thunder storm. If the truth be known, I can't hear those barrels rolling in the sky.

All of Mum's worrying about losing the deed was not necessary as they were registered with the Registrar at the Land Registry Office and are on file forever and ever for anyone who wishes to read them.

The land transactions as well as leases and mortgages for Saint John County were written in ledgers. These huge books are kept in a room called the Vault at Service New Brunswick in the Calp's Building on North King Square. Also, in this room are the microfilm copies of the ledgers for the counties of Kings, Queens and Charlotte.

The Index books are laid out so the Grantors - the person who sold the property - are on the left hand pages and the Grantees - the person who bought the property - are on the right hand pages. After the name there is a reference to the volume number of the ledger where the document has been written and also a notation to let you know if it deals with a deed, lease, mortgage or will.

When property was sold, the wife had to sign the deed. This often leads to determining if it were John Smith - Senior or Junior or Cousin or no relation to your family. The witness to the signature can also provide some clues so make note of them. The address of the persons involved has solved more than one mystery for me. In Book Z-7 page 276 there was a deed from William McCauley et. al. to George Rose. The deed states that it was written on the fourth day of August 1880. The address given proved a very important point; " Peter Douglas of Prince of Wales and presently residing at Jackson city in the state of Michigan and Nancy his wife formerly Nancy McAuley wife of William McAuley now deceased."

In the 1850s, I found a reference in a deed to one of my ancestor's residing in Quebec City which led me to finding information on him. Without this reference I would never have been able to have made the connection.

It appears that land transactions that dealt with bequeaths in a will have the will copied into the ledger. Many of these wills are also on file in the Registry Office.

A person who dies without a will, is said to have died intestate. This can really open some doors in doing genealogical research if that person owned property. When the deed to the property is transferred to a purchaser, all the heirs with their addresses  must be named and quite often the name of the husband of a woman heir will be given.

Viewing the land transactions of an ancestor can sometimes lead to not only the location of  land owned, leased or mortgaged but the name of the wife and heirs.

Query 98-697
Hendry: I am researching George Hendry, Revolutionary time period, probably Loyalist,
possibly from New York State. Is anyone familiar with this name?
 -Winifred McNabb. E-mail to winmcnabb@aol.com.

Query 98-698
Pine: I am trying to locate information on George Jury Pine who lived in Saint John perhaps on Germain Street in the mid 1800s. I have a photograph of his three storey house taken by a MacClure, Germain Street. His wife was Charlotte Amelia, who died in London, England. It
has been rumoured that possibly one of the Saint John Pines went to England and was a very 'feisty' lady in London!
 -Adrian White, 3 Forest Hill Crescent, Fonthill, Ontario, L0S 1E1. E-mail to AWHITEFCA@aol.com.

Query 98-699
Oakes - Hammond - Holse - Jewell - Youmans - Simmons: I am looking for relatives of John Oaks who married Sarah Hammond in 1764 in Massachusetts and moved to New Brunswick. Four of their children are: James married  Rachel Holse (my husband's line) in 1792 in Gagetown; Benjamin married Mary Jewell in1800 in Gagetown; Sarah married Daniel Youmans in 1795 in Gagetown and Christopher married Freelove Simmons in1802. These four children settled in Ontario. Are there relatives of any of these still in the New Brunswick area?
 -Jo Oakes, 10 McCall Street, Simcoe, Ontario, N3Y 2C4. E-mail to robox@flarenet.com.

Query 98-700
Hayes: I'm searching for any Hayes coming from Ireland in the 1810- 1830s to Saint John. My great-great Grandfather is listed as being born there in 1823. Any info on Hayes would be greatly
 -Carolyn Hayes Pracon, 126 New Britain Ave., Plainville, CT,  06062. E-mail to   CPracon@aol.com.

Query 98-702
Stackhouse - Clarke: John Stackhouse married Hannah Clarke of Portland on Dec 25, 1817. She was born about 1798. I know of only one child, Benjamin who was baptized on Oct 30, 1823 at St Andrews Church, Saint John. Does anyone have any information on this Family?
 -Al Stackhouse, 293 Lakeside Rd., Hampton, N.B., E5N 6M7. E-mail stackho@nbnet.nb.ca.

Query 98-703
Quinn - Crowley: My grandfather was born in Saint John to Cornelius (Neil) Quinn and Mary Noonan Crowley. Neil was possibly born in Ireland in 1835. He and Mary were married Oct. 28, 1861 in Saint John. Their children are: William James (Aug. 10,1864); John;  Henry (Harry), my grandfather was born Oct 1, 1868 and Mary (Minnie) (Apr. 6,1879). Neil was a cartman. John was possibly in trouble with the law and Train police at an early age. William J. was possibly a clerk by 1883, not to be confused with William J, the harbor pilot. Henry and Mary and possibly another were put in an orphanage where Mary was adopted off to someone in Maine but Henry ran away and sold newspapers on the street. We think the mother died and the children were taken away from Neil but no evidence. I would love to get any information about the family and relatives in either direction.
 -Henry Quinn, 140 Harrington Rd., Waltham, MA,  02452. E-mail to DSIGNS4848@aol.com.

Query 98-704
Allen - Hazelwood: Charlotte Maria Allen was born in New Brunswick about 1824. In 1847
in Saint John, she married William Henry Hazelwood. She reportedly had sisters Amelia and Fannie(or Frances), and brothers David (a sea captain) and Daniel(a seaman). Her father may have been Thomas R. Allen, a ship's carpenter who lived in the Indiantown section of Saint John in the 1860s. Does anyone have any information on this family?
 -Earle Hazelwood, 12 Chapman Rd., Boxford, MA,  01921. E-mail to echaz22@surfree.com.

Ruby M. Cusack is a genealogy buff . Send your queries to her at rmcusack@nbnet.nb.ca. (Please put Yesteryear Families in the subject line.) Include your name and mailing address for the benefit of those who do not have access to E-mail.