The Saint John Branch of the New Brunswick Genealogical Society
celebrates 20th birthday in 2001
On our arrival home from school during the days of September,
we were usually greeted at the back door by the smells of chow-chow, mustard
pickles and beets cooking on the wood stove. But on this Friday afternoon
we got a whiff of the aroma of pumpkin pie, hot rolls and potato scallop
coming from the pantry window.
Cliff and I wondered who was coming for supper. We were wrong in our assumption. Aunt Nellie was home from Montreal and it was also Sadie's birthday. The family had decided to combine a birthday party with Aunt Nell's visit and were to gather at Gramp's house with the food.
When we all sat down at the long table in the dining room, it was overflowing with wonderful things to eat.
Aunt Nell had been one of the first three New Brunswick nurses to go overseas in the First World War and she also knew all about Dr. Wilder Pennfield and his research. I might add she enjoyed sharing her memories and information. It also was a time to hear stories of aunts, uncles and cousins who had left home for places that seemed far away to me.
The birthday cake smothered in boiled icing was delicious. I ate three pieces. By the look on Mum's face I knew she wasn't very pleased with my being so greedy.
As Aunt Nell daintily wiped the icing from her lips, she remarked, "This reminds me of the smorgasbords we have in the restaurants in Montreal except this one is free."
I looked at Cliff and whispered, "Why would they have boards instead of tables?"
Ken overheard and said, "A smorgasbord is a meal with all kinds of goodies!"
The Saint John Branch of the New Brunswick Genealogical Society is celebrating its twentieth birthday on Saturday, September 15, 2001 by holding a Genealogical Fair "Sharing Your Family Tree" at St. Mark's United Church, 50 Dexter Drive, Saint John, New Brunswick and best of all it is free. The fair will run from 10 AM to 4 PM and will have all sorts of goodies for anyone who has an interest in learning more about genealogy and researching their family history. It is also an opportunity to find out more about the New Brunswick Genealogical Society and to see what other researchers have on your family lines.
The Provincial Archives will be on hand with their traveling exhibit of research materials for Charlotte, Kings and Saint John Counties.
Representatives from the Charlotte County Branch of the New Brunswick Genealogical Society will be there with lots of information on that county as well as genealogies from Washington County, Maine.
Kings County will be represented with tables from several individuals, including a data base of the first fifty years of land transactions and information on the material available at the Kings County Museum.
Of special interest to researchers of Saint John County will be information on the old Methodist Burial Ground on Thorne Avenue, West Saint John, St. Martins, Fairfield, and Beer Makers.
You will also be able to learn about the resources at the New Brunswick Museum, the Loyalist Association, the families in the Digby area of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Carleton County, Chipman, Northumberland County and the Steeves connections.
If you have a most wanted or a brick wall that you are facing in your research and would like to post a query or a problem, please bring it with you on an 81/2 x 11 page with your name and address or means of contact and it will be taped on the walls around the room.
This Genealogical Fair is a great opportunity for the beginning family researcher or an experienced one to view reference material or to discuss problems and successes with others who have a love of genealogy. No registration is necessary and the admission is free.
The icing on the cake will be the sale of books that have been published by the Genealogical Society Branches as will those written by individuals. There will also be booksellers featuring genealogical resource material.
The idea behind the fair is to encourage anyone interested in genealogy to come to the fair with their family charts, with any cemetery, marriage, land or census records they may have collected along with any books in their private collections that they have used in their own research and share this information. This is a true pot luck. You don't know what you will sample until you get there!
* * *
Query 901
Wilson - Taylor - Hutchins: Thomas Wilson was born in 1863.
He was a fisherman and was married to Martha Taylor in 1911 and he died in
1927. Martha Taylor Hutchins Wilson died on August 8, 1945 and is buried
in Cedar Hill Cemetery in West Saint John with her first husband Charles Hutchins.
I am seeking information on the parents of Thomas Wilson and I would really
appreciate hearing from anyone with any knowledge of this family.
-Ann Waddell, 1077 Route 845, Kingston, New Brunswick, E5N 1K7. E-mail
to waddell@brunnet.net.
Query 902
Bonnell - McKinney - Hiott - Pitt: I live in Australia and I am
researching my friend Beverly Bonnell Quinn's family on her behalf. Her family
was located in Saint John and Kings Counties. Her grandfather Frederick W.
Bonnell married Emma Cecelia McKinney in Saint John on August 14, 1894. Emma
died on August 6, 1950 probably in Westfield, Kings County. Fred had been
institutionalised in1912 and little information is known about him. Their
children were: 1) Frederick Burr Bonnell who became a ship's engineer with
Canada Steamship, 2) Monte Bonnell, 3) Lulu Chesley Bonnell was born on September
9, 1899 at Greenwich Hill, Kings County and married Hartley Bonnell, possibly
the son of William S. Bonnell and Helen Amelia Pitt, 4) Clayton Oscar Bonnell
was born in 1901 at Westfield, 5) Dorothy M. Bonnell was born in 1904
at Westfield, 6) Henry Nathan Bonnell was Bev's father and was
in the Merchant Navy and the Canadian Navy in W11 as an engineer
(Commander). He married Viola Hattie Hiott in St. Catharines, Ontario, and
that is where Bev and her brother Burton were born. Henry died in1970. Any
information on the Bonnell family would be appreciated.
-Linda Holland 37 Chapel St., Burra, South Australia 5417, Australia.
E-mail to
bevlin@rt.rbe.net.au.
