Mum was trying her best to drill me for tomorrow's test on the counties and shire towns of New Brunswick. We were going to be given a map of New Brunswick with the counties outlined. The assignment would be to fill in their names and shire towns. Although Cliff was a grade behind me, we were both following the same curriculum in Social Studies. He didn't seem to find it difficult to remember the location of the counties and could rattle off the shire towns. Poor patient Mum just couldn't seem to pound all this information into my head. I knew I lived in Kings County and the smallest county was Albert County.

By the way, Heather Long knows more than just the shire town of Albert County as she has done extensive research on the Catholic families who settled there before 1861. In her 358 page book, including a 63-page surname index, ‘Good Green Hope' - The Irish Catholic Settlers of Albert County, New Brunswick, she compiled the family histories of 60 families.

If the first child in a family was born in 1880 or earlier she carried the lineage one more generation. Only those descendants who were born or raised in Albert County or in the neighboring parishes of Sussex in Kings County and Dorchester in Westmorland County were included.

The first Irish settlers in Albert County would have landed in Saint John and trekked through the woods to their new homes. . . John Barrett was born in Co. Mayo, arrived in Saint John on April 25, 1831 on the brig Latonia of Liverpool and two months later he applied for a teacher's license. . .Philip Daley and Mary Olsten had 12 children and are buried in New Ireland. . . Dennis Dornan was born in 1786 in Ballymoney, County Antrim and immigrated to New Brunswick in 1826 with his second wife, a son and two daughters. . .William Howard was born in County Kerry and studied for the priesthood but left the seminary before taking his final vows. . . At the age of 85, Luke McAllister returned to Hopewell Hill for a visit in1897 after spending twenty years in the Western States.

The family histories are: Barrett, Bartley, Beck, Boyle, Campbell, Carty, Clancy, Cusack, Daley, Doherty, Dornan, Doyle, Driscoll, Duffy, Duhan, Durning, Fardy, Fitzgerald, Flannigan, Gallagher, Harrington, Hogan, Howard, Kent, Layden, Long, Mahoney, Mansfield, McAllister, McAnulty, McCarron, McCormick, McDevett, McFadden, McGuire, McKinley, Morris, Morrissey, Mullin, Murphy, Nowlan, O'Connor, O'Donnell, O'Flaherty, Olsten, O'Regan, Owens, Pallas, Quigley, Rayburn, Rossiter, Sexton, Shanahan, Sweeney, Swift, Teahan, Travers, Tunney and White.

The same forces that brought the Irish from every corner of their island nation to Albert County dispersed them again across the North American continent and farther but in their hearts they carried the seed of Good Green Hope.

The book, Good Green Hope can be ordered from Heather Long, 1777 Cambridge St., Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, B3H 4A8. E-mail inquiries to  h.long@ns.sympatico.ca.
 

Query 98-691
Gesner - Trites - Carpenter - Blackney: I am seeking information on Jacob Workman Gesner who was born in1840 and died in Fall River, MA. in 1920, the son of Jacob Gesner and Elizabeth Trites and the grandson of Abraham Gesner. He married Catherine Ann Carpenter, possibly of Hampton, the daughter Ephriam Carpenter Jr. and Barbara Blackney. They had 13 children and moved to Fall River, MA about 1897. Any information you have to offer on the Gesner family or their relatives, I would be happy to know.
 -Nomie Mignella, 29 Robinwood Dr., Hope, RI, 02831. E-mail to Nomie62@aol.com.

Query 98-692
Bustin - Hamilton: Frederick Parker Bustin was born in Mechanic's Settlement in1886. He and his brothers Thomas and Benjamin, married Hamilton sisters: Melvina, Agnes, and Catherine. I am particularly interested in pinning down Fred and Melvina's marriage date. They may have come to "the States" to get married in either Portland or Portsmouth. In 1910 the other two couples eloped to Portsmouth to marry and moved in with Fred and Melvina in Portland. This event warranted a big article in the Portland paper. I seek information on the Bustin and Hamilton families as well as elopement customs of that time period.
 -Pam Schaffner (great granddaughter of Fred P. Bustin), 5231 Chapel Ln., Mason, OH,  45040. E-mail to pschaffner@fuse.net.

Query 98-693
Drillen - Drilling - Dralen - Drillon: Henry Fred Ernest Drilling was supposedly born in the Saint John area in about 1854. He possibly had a brother named Charles. His grandfather was Krugar Drillen who had three brothers: Conrad; Henry and Fredrick. They were originally from Germany and migrated to Scotland before coming to Canada. They were given land near Fredricton in the Grand Lake area. I have found from searching that there were Drillen Families in the Chipman and Waterborough area of Queens County in the 1854 time period. Does anyone have information that could help me locate the parents and siblings of Henry Fred Ernest Drillen? I would be interested in corresponding with any member of the Drillen family.
 -Linda E. Drilling, 50 Hoover St., Kalamazoo, Michigan,  49008. Email to F2led3154@aol.com.

Query 98-694
Lindsey - Hamilton: I am looking for information on John Lindsey born about 1780 who married  Elizabeth Hamilton born1785. They had 11 known children and lived in Grand Manan at one time. Any information on this couple or there children would help.
 -Jackie Lindsey, 16 Dorothy Rd., Arlington, MA,  02474. E-mail to jdecampo@rcn.com.

Query 98-695
Byers - Best: I am desperately looking for information on my ancestors, George C. Byers and Maud (Best) Byers. George C. Byers was born about 1846. Maud Best was born about 1861.  They were both born in Saint John, New Brunswick. Their daughter, Maude J. Byers was born in 1882. I would like to verify that they were both, indeed, born in Saint John and the names of their parents and secondly I would like to find out if they had other children. George C. Byers moved to the United States, perhaps sometime in the 1890s, but the information that I have is that Maud (Best) Byers remained in Saint John and worked as a seamstress. Does anyone have any information on this family as they were my great grandparents, but I know nothing about them? I have been searching for a long time and I am unable to find anything. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
 -Nancy L. Auclair, 330 Maguire Road, Kennebunk, ME,  04043. E-mail to mynana@ispchannel.com.

 Ruby M. Cusack is a genealogy buff. Send your queries to her at rmcusack@nbnet.nb.ca. (Please put Yesteryear Families in the subject line.) Include your name and mailing address for the benefit of those who do not have access to E-mail.