ONLINE
RESOURCES ARE A RESEARCHER’S FRIEND
Website of the New Brunswick Public Library
Services
It was only the middle of January and every thing
possible that could go wrong had gone wrong.
During the first cold snap of winter, the water line to the barn froze.
That meant we had to cut a hole in the ice and to keep a path shovelled
to the brook so the cows could get their drink of water. Then the
weather turned warm and the heavens opened with rain and overnight the
frigid air returned and everything was covered with ice, including the
cow path.
Dad slipped on the ice and twisted his knee. A move in the wrong way
caused shooting pain. The more the knee hurt, the more horse liniment
he rubbed on it.
One of the sows delivered an unexpected early litter of pigs. To try to
keep the smallest alive, four of them were in a box behind the stove
requiring to be bottle fed every few hours - day and night.
We had just finished supper when the door burst open and in hurried
Gramp to announce he could see flames shooting from the chimney -
a flu fire. Someone would need to climb the ladder on the roof and dump
coarse salt down the chimney.
As Mum rushed to the attic to check for heat in the bricks, I heard her
exclaim as she ran up the stairs, “What will happen next?”
Similarly, while doing family history research, there are times when
everything seems to go wrong. But with the help of resources, that
often can be found on the internet, a silver lining can sometimes
appear in those clouds.
A visit to the website of the New Brunswick Public Library services http://www.gnb.ca/publiclibraries
can lead you to their “Vision” catalogue where you can search the
holdings of all public libraries across the province by author, title,
subject or you can go to “Find it Fast” and by using the
word “genealogy” get a listing
of everything pertaining to that subject.
Another online service on their website, “Explore Your Roots @ your library”
will provide help in locating genealogy resources at the libraries
throughout New Brunswick plus links to many websites on the internet
that provide free information.
Quaestio - New
Brunswick Virtual Reference Service lets you ask a brief
question online to the staff of New Brunswick's public libraries.
Library staff can help by suggesting resources to assist you in your
research.
A Library Card is free and
it certainly can open up many windows for you. If you don’t have one, I
suggest you get one immediately.
In days gone by, the library card was used for borrowing books but
today your library card can let you explore the “Electronic Resources” with access to
1) Canadian Newsstand - Remote
full-text access to the articles, columns, editorials and features
published in the Daily Gleaner, Telegraph-Journal (last 2 years are
available online), Times & Transcript, Globe and Mail and other
Canadian major dailies. Canadian Newsstand content is updated daily so
library patrons always have timely access to new information.
2) Canadian Reference Centre -
Combines Canadian magazines, newspapers & newswires and reference
books to create the largest collection of regional full text content
available to Canadian libraries. This database includes leading
Canadian periodicals and international (U.S. and U.K.) periodicals in
full text; book reviews, full text reference books; more than 84,000
full text biographies and an Image Collection database of more than
100,000 photos, maps and flags.
3) Electric Library Canada -
General database of reference materials from both Canadian and
international sources. The service delivers exclusively 100% full-text
articles from almost 800 magazines and journals, 300 newspapers and
newswires. It also contains over 160,000 photos, 2,700 maps, and over
200,000 television, radio and government transcripts.
The Virtual Reference Library (VRL – located on the orange tabs at the
top of the screen) provides a list of genealogy related
websites (and much more) evaluated and chosen by library staff to
assist in your research.
Also many libraries across the province have local collections located
on-site that might be of interest.
Interlibrary loans are available through your public library. It may be
possible to order items from outside of New Brunswick. Please check
with your nearest library for details.
Other internet sources outside the library include: www.automatedgenealogy.com
for its transcriptions of the censuses from 1851, 1901, 1906 & 1911
and its links to other resources; the Canadian
Genealogy Centre not just for its freely searchable records,
but also for its pages which describe how to go about researching one's
family history; www.ancestry.ca for its plethora of
free & subscription services.
So my advice for those folk whether they are just starting genealogy or
have years of searching under their belt or have hit a brick wall, just
pack up your troubles, and head for the New Brunswick Public Library services
website.
* *
Queries:
Cusack
- Ellard: Ellen
Cusack of the St. Martins (Quaco) area of Saint John County, New
Brunswick married William Ellard. Their children were John born 1831,
Thomas, Ellen, Timothy, Johanna and maybe others. In 1854, at the time
of the death of Ellen’s father, she was living in the United States -
we think possibly in Newburyport - Haverhill area of Mass. A
possibility her daughter, Ellen married in 1862 to Patrick Lenihan of
that area of the United States. Any information on the family of Ellen
Cusack and William Ellard would be appreciated. Also seeking
information on the family of Ellen Cusack's brother - Patrick Cusack (Cuseck)
who with wife Johannah Boyle and family moved to Newburyport area.
Patrick and son
William C. Cuseck both fought in the Civil War. Need information
on
their descendants in the Newburyport area of Mass.
E-mail rmcusack@nbnet.nb.ca
Cusack - Clark - Coholan
- Cohlan: Timothy Cusack and Ellen Clark of Saint John,
New Brunswick, Canada had a daughter Mary Ellen Cusack born circa 1860
who married John Coholan / Cohlan sometimes spelled Collan. By 1901 she
was living in Saint John in her mother's house - She had borne at least
six children and two of them had died as well as her husband John
Coholan / Cohlan and her father Timothy Cusack. Her mother Ellen Clark
Cusack died in 1903. In 1904, Mary Ellen Coholan / Cohlan was living in
Greenville, Maine when her Uncle John Cusack, known as the Hermit of
Moosehead Lake, was drowned. She and her children, Harry C., John,
Frederick and Catherine Lillian appear to have remained in Maine -
possibly Bath and Brewer (not certain). Can anyone provide information
on the Coholan / Cohlan family?
Contact rmcusack@nbnet.nb.ca
Query 1590: Simpson
- Freeman: I am looking for information about my Great
Great Grandmother Elizabeth Simpson born 1831 in Saint John, New
Brunswick. She married Samuel Freeman. They had three children. The
eldest son Walter emigrated from England to Canada about 1869.
Lesley Gibbs.
E-mail c.gibbs1@yahoo.co.uk
Query 1591: Kearney
- Nevers: Alexander Kearney was a Loyalist in the New
Jersey 1st Battalion and then the 5th Battalion, serving on Long
Island. His son Hilkiah, who married Anna Nevers, stated on his land
petition in 1803 that he had lived with his father for the past 21
years in Lower Queensbury. Can anyone provide information on Alexander
Kearney?
Diana Siragusa
342 Talbot St.
Melbourne, Florida
32901, USA
E-mail Dlsir@aol.com
Ruby M. Cusack is a genealogy buff
living in New Brunswick, Canada. Send your New Brunswick genealogical
queries to her at: rmcusack@nbnet.nb.ca. Please put "Query"
followed by the surnames in your query as the subject. For more
information on submitting queries, visit http://www.rubycusack.com/Query-Instructions.html
Ruby contributes a "Family
History" column to the Telegraph-Journal on the third Saturday of the
month.
