For Sale - A Time There Was - Petersville and Other Abandoned Settlements in Queens County, New Brunswick, 1815-1953 by Marion Gilchrist Reicker

Marion Gilchrist Reicker didn’t just talk about abandoned farms and settlements, she researched and wrote about the area of Petersville and other abandoned settlements in Queens County from 1815 to 1953 in her book, ‘A Time There Was’.

She states, “There are many old roads in Queens County, and the curious wayfarer who decides to explore one of them or even venture into the woodland, may be rewarded by many memorabilia of a bygone era - perhaps an apple tree or lilac bush laden with blooms, in an otherwise forested area. Or, if he goes further from the old road, he may stumble on a pile of stones, what is left of an old fence, or a building foundation, or even an old well.”

Over the years changes were made as to how lands were granted and paid for by the hopeful owners to be. In 1849, legislation was passed enabling settlers to pay for their lands by labour on the public roads in lieu of cash.

Many immigrants went immediately to blocks of land which had been laid out for them in the wilderness area of Queens County. They formed communities of marked nationality, many of the residents having come from the same community back home or even from the same clan or family.

One of the first areas to be settled in what is now CFB Gagetown, was New Jerusalem in the western section of the Parish of Hampstead. It included Inchby, New Jerusalem and Polleyhurst. The Elisha Crabbe, Timothy Morrell and Henry Sharp families were already living there when the first immigrants arrived and it is assumed they were of Loyalist descent. Around 1818 - 1820, Alexander Machum with his wife Martha Carson of Ireland, the Shorts from England and John Inch of County Fermanagh took up land in the area.

It is interesting to note that some of the settlers came from Saint John by rowboat up the St. John River and travelled to their grants by a crooked trail from Hampstead. Other routes were also taken and many came on foot carrying their belongings.

The first school was opened in New Jerusalem in 1826 with the teacher being Thomas Holahan. The next year a school was opened in the Coot Hill Settlement and the students were taught by John Inch.

Interviews with residents with knowledge of Jerusalem, Ennniskillen, Summer Hill, Clones, Hamilton Mountain and Hibernia have been included by the author.

When the government surveyors from Ottawa surveyed their region in the summer of 1951, the residents of Jerusalem, Petersville and surrounding areas suspected that something was in the wind that they wouldn’t like. The first blow fell on July 15, 1952, with the federal government announcement that a huge army base, capable of handling the manoeuvres of a full army division, was to be built in New Brunswick and on August 15, 1952, the residents knew it would be their land that would be used. Not only did these people have to leave their homes, but also they had to leave their farms, their communities, their churches, schools, friends, societies and the cemeteries.

An Appendix of ninety pages lists the Camp Gagetown properties expropriated by the Defence Department in 1954-55.

Interesting information has been provided on Bald Hill, Jones Settlement, Shannon, Lewis or Big Cove, California, Millbrook, Waterloo, Gofftown, Annidale, Chipman Parish, Canaan and their residents.

Ghost stories are an integral part of the folklore of early Queens County and several have been included.

“A Time There Was - Petersville and Other Abandoned Settlements in Queens County, New Brunswick, 1815-1953" by Marion Gilchrist Reicker was published in 1984 by the Queens County Historical Society. It outlines the history and folklore of a number of Queens County communities that were once viable but for one reason or another no longer exist. It was a time when each man worked his own piece of land but was dependent on the goodwill and co-operation of his neighbours for survival”.

For the family researcher who dreams of the time of finding a book filled with names, this publication is a dream come true.

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Another publication:
Those Days Are Gone Away - Queens County - New Brunswick 1643-1901 by Marion Gilchrist Reicker
http://www.rubycusack.com/Book-Reicker-Days.html