The Julian Tribe
by W. D. Hamilton
Valuable
history of New Brunswick Aboriginal Families
Under the watchful eye of the
teacher, we gathered around the sand table, working on creating an
Indian village. A blue ribbon, buried in the sand, was the river with
tiny birch bark
canoes moored at the edge. Pieces of birch bark covered paper cones to
resemble wigwams. Little twigs and evergreens were stuck in plasticine
to show forests. Our clothes pin Indian Chief looked quite grand as he
stood at the entrance to the tallest wigwam.
If we had lived in the Red Bank area of the Miramichi, we probably
would have named him, Chief Julian.
In the book, The Julian Tribe, W. D. Hamilton discusses
in Part I, the events which occurred during the life and times of
several of the Chief Julians in the Red Bank and Eel Ground Bands, of
Northumberland County, from the late 1700s to the early 1900s.
Part II of the book is a biographical-genealogical compilation on the
individual members of the tribe from the period of the earliest records
until the beginning of the 20th century.
“Dominic Alexander was baptized on June 27,
1848, at three weeks of age, as a son of Noel Laxado and Lucy
Pier Paul. He married Angelique Ginnish in 1872. Records
have
been located for eight of their children.”
“Joseph Dominic was among those “heirs and
descendants of John Julian” who signed the Red Bank petition of
1848.”
“Noel Gabriel married Moll Pelonick
in 1853.”
“John Julian’s wife was Bridget Francois.
Their daughter Genevieve was married to John Thomas Ginnish
during the St. Anne’s mission of 1796 in a ceremony conducted by Father
Castonet.”
“Cain Noel McKay was baptized as Stephen
Noel McCoy and married as Eccain McCoy to Mary Ann
Ginnish in 1853.”
“Dominic Renou; his wife, Moll Magdalene
Sappier; two children; and Dominic’s brother Peter were enumerated
together in the North Esk Parish census of 1861. A copy of the will of Mrs.
Dominic Renou, of Eel Ground, dated 1901 was written in
Micmac and is held by the Public Archives of Canada.”
“Noel Sinnot’s baptism record shows his
parents’ names simply as Synoth and Molly. Noel married Charlotte
Barnaby in 1871 and Jane Ginnish in 1880.”
"John Sock was the husband of Marie
Julian and they were living on the North West Miramichi in 1822."
“John Whitney and Marie had a son, Stephen
(Cain) Whitney baptized on November 23, 1823, at seven weeks of
age.”
From the late 18th century onward, there was at least some agriculture
carried on by members of the Julian Tribe. On a limited scale, they
grew crops, and they kept oxen and horses. From an early date, the men
of the tribe worked in the lumber industry on the Miramichi. The
able-bodied
men were on the river drives in the spring and in the sawmills in the
summer - side by side with their non-Indian counterparts. There were
also tradesmen among the members of the tribe in the 19th century -
coopers, cobblers, plasterers and so on.
‘The Julian Tribe’ by W. D. Hamilton was a first of its kind in
the region when it came out 19 years ago and there is still little else
in print on the history of the reserves and the genealogical heritage
of the
aboriginal population of New Brunswick and the other Maritime
provinces.
* *
Query 1051
Weaver-Estey: I am seeking information on any of the following.
John Weaver was born circa 1800, possibly the son of George
Weaver who was married to a Mary Estey and they had a son Moses Estey
Weaver born in Sunbury County in 1826.
-A. Cormier, PO Box 1511, St. Paul , NB, Canada, E4T
3W5. E-mail treesita@hotmail.com.
Query 1052
Kinney - Kirkland - Weeks: I am searching for the parents of Martha
A. Kinney, who was born in September of 1859 in Moncton, New Brunswick.
She died 18 December 1925 in Milo, Maine. She was married to James F.
Kirkland, who was born in 1835 in New Brunswick - possibly the son of
John Kirkland and Sarah Elizabeth Weeks. Martha and James F. Kirkland
are buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery in Bangor, Maine.
-Cora MacDonald, 18 Nicole Ct. Apt 4c, Bangor, ME,
04401, USA. E-mail cdmac959@hotmail.com (Bounced back) or applecore@prexar.com.
