Ruby M. Cusack

When we drove up Grampy’s driveway, Mum was quite surprised to find Aunt Annie had arrived to spend the summer in the ‘old house’. Before we were out of the car, she was beckoning for us to come on over.

Although Aunt Annie had lived in New Brunswick since a young girl, she still held dear many of the customs of her native England. After several minutes of catching up on the family news, she decided it was time to have a good cup of tea.

From the pump in the kitchen she filled the kettle with fresh water and set it on the stove to boil. While it heated, she brought out the china teapot and an assortment of some very pretty flowered china cups and saucers. When the water reached the boiling point, she poured some and swished it around until the teapot was heated. After dumping out that water she put in the tea - no tea bags in those days. Next she poured hot water into the teapot and covered the teapot with a beautiful quilted tea cozy. From the pantry, she brought out a plate of sweets and in exactly five minutes poured the steeped brew into the china cups. It was a splendid teatime!

At 1810 Carter House in Kingston the same care is used when serving patrons in the Tea Room. Lunches and a plate of assorted sweets are always available. While waiting for the tea to be prepared, the guests can wander through the Gift Shop located in the old parlor or can enjoy reading some of the booklets of local history and genealogy found in the dining room.

While roaming the rooms one can almost hear the laughter of the eleven Cosman children who were raised in this house.

The name 1810 Carter House was given to it as during the 1920s the Kingston born William S. Carter, Chief Superintendent of Education for New Brunswick and his wife Ella owned the property.

Since its purchase in the 1960s by the Peninsula Heritage Inc. renovations have been made to this traditional post and beam constructed 'cape' design cottage. The house still retains much of the original 'cottage' essence on the inside with the original four corner posts remaining exposed and the 'placed-as-cut' wooden floorboards in the Gift Shop are easily identified, as are the original newel post, railing, stairs and most of the hardware fittings.

Dorie Gorham, Beth Quigley, Judi Baxter, Glen Baxter and Gordon Miller along with other Heritage members have volunteered hundreds of hours to this project. Last year, under the direction of Mitzi Withers a Heritage Garden was completed and this year, tea in the garden is a very real possibility.

1810 Carter House opened for the season on June 22. It will be closed on Mondays but is open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the other days of the week. The Gift Shop provides an outlet for the sale of local crafts, art and quilts.

Query 961
McMennamin - Sullivan - McSheffrey - Crotty: I am researching the family of Philip Sullivan and Ann McMennamin from Stanley, Cross Creek, or of Saint John County. They are the parents of Dora Mae Sullivan, who was born in Cross Creek on April 12, 1885 and Baptized at St. Patrick's on May 14, 1885. Philip married a second time to Elizabeth McSheffrey and had a daughter, Phyllis Sullivan, who married Denis Crotty. There were two other daughters, Marie and Ida. If anyone has any information I would be pleased to hear from them.
 -Beth Haskell, P.O. Box 532, Lebanon, TN., 37087, USA. E-mail to  BugButtsMom@aol.com.

Query 963
Kearns - Keefe: Thomas Kearns was born in the 1830s in Sussex and was living in the Seeley's Mill area  (Waterford) in 1871 and listed as age 32 with Blacksmith being his trade. His father Patrick Kearns and stepmother Catherine were living with their son Timothy age 25 in the same area. His mother Margaret Kief or Keefe was deceased by 1840. There were more children to this family so if anything fits please get in touch with me.
 -Betty Millett Ellis , P.O. Box 234 , Readfield, Maine, USA, 04355. E-mail to Bellis6@aol.com.

Query 964
Hartt: I am looking for the names of the New Brunswick schools the following Hartt ladies taught at. They lived near Jacksontown, New Brunswick when growing up. Caroline Hartt was born in 1873 and came west to teach in 1903.  Phoebe was born in 1877. Florence was born in 1872, and  went to India as a missionary in 1900.  Pearl was born in1885 and came to Alberta to teach in 1914 and died in child birth in 1915. All these Hartt ladies taught school in New Brunswick before they left the area. Any help in finding their schools would be most appreciated.
 -Carole J. Dick,   E-mail to caroledi@telus.net

Query 965
Somers - Stiles - Kilborn: Sophia Somers was born about 1758 and was the daughter of Matthias Somers.  She married Josiah Stiles, who was born in 1766 in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia.  He was a son of Nathan Stiles and Kesiah Kilborn. I would like to find  the names of Sophia's and Josiah's children.
 -Shirley Somers Lillo, 5112 Eagle Lake Road, Duluth, Minnesota, USA,  55803.  E-mail to SLillo8858@aol.com.

Query 966
Barrat: Richard Whiteside Barrat was born in Saint John, New Brunswick. In 1842 he was awarded  his sea captains certificate number CCOL. He married Mary H Barratt and died in England in the early 1900s.
 -Gill Doughty, Woodlands - Norden - Corfe Castle, Nr Wareham, Dorset, BH20 5DT England. E-mail to tisgill@yahoo.com

Ruby M. Cusack is a genealogy buff living in Saint John.  E-mail your queries to her at  rmcusack@nbnet.nb.ca.  Include your name and mailing address for the benefit of those who do not have access to E-mail. Please put Family Surname followed by the word 'Query' in the subject line. That is Smith & Jones - Query.