Knowlesville Two: The Corey Story

by Judson M. Corey


I
overheard Gram tell Mum that she would take me for the weekend as Mum had lots of things to do in preparing for Christmas. I hurriedly packed my little satchel and waited for the invitation. The best part of an overnight stay at Gram’s house was getting tucked into the big feather bed with the heavy wool comforter and then having her sit on the edge of the bed, telling me stories of the days of her childhood and all the relatives she played with. I hoped on this visit she would relate Christmas stories to me.

In the early summer of 1904, Ira Corey brought his one-year old daughter Erma to visit her grandparents, Alfred and Lucretia Corey in Knowlesville. As Tuberculosis had claimed the life
of her mother, Emily Graham, on Campobello Island, in June of that year the very young child  was in need of a home.

Throughout the years she lived with her grandparents, she heard many stories of their life, relatives and friends.

When Erma Eleanor Corey Shaw was in her late eighties, she planted the seed for a book to be compiled on the descendants of Alfred and Lucretia (Kierstead) Corey. Her talent for story telling combined with her sense of history, a love of family and vivid memory provided many details for a biographical publication.

For the last ten years, her brother Judson M. Corey has worked diligently collecting and organizing material for a book titled “Knowlesville Two: The Corey Story”.

About the year 1874, Alfred and Lucretia (Kierstead) Corey came to Knowlesville with five children aged two to nine - Mina, Alma, Charles, Judson Albert, and Ida May. Five other children were born to them in Knowlesville: Sadie, Ira Thomas, Alberta, Laversa and Erminnie.

There was very little cash income connected with pioneering homesteading, hence, Alfred sought seasonal employment outside the community. One job was at Forest City near the Maine border, where hemlock trees were cut down and the harvested bark was used in tanneries.

A letter from him to his wife, ‘Missis Corey’ was from Muskoka, Ontario. He apparently had been considering a move to that area but had not found anything better than New Brunswick. He instructed her, “Do not sell anything until you hear from me”. His PS, was, “I think I will be home this fall. I do not like this place.

As soon as the children were mature enough to seek employment, the parents watched as they left to go afield to obtain employment. The ever open door, the lamp in the window, the love of a family and the sense of belonging drew them back home, time and time again.

The more than seven hundred pages of “Knowlesville Two: The Corey Story” by Judson M. Corey chronicles the events in the lives of the descendants of Alfred and Lucretia (Kierstead) Corey and provides us a walk through time with the families.

The book is available from Judson M. Corey, 543 Lancaster Ave., Saint John, NB, E2M 2L9. Telephone 506 672-0146. Also from the Kings County Museum in Hampton. Telephone (506) 832-6009 (Leave a message). Fax (506) 832-6409.  E-mail kingscm@nbnet.nb.ca.
   
****

Query 1123   
McAnn:
I am seeking information on the family of Lewis and Rebecca McAnn who came from Ireland about 1820 -1835. The family lived in Mechanics Settlement, Havelock, Moncton, Sussex, and Petitcodiac.
    -Robert Ruth 4108 - 16th Ave, Moline, IL, 61265, USA. Email to robert@ruthgirls.com.
   
Query 1124
McFawn - McFahan:
Information needed on the McFawn (McFahan) family who apparently lived in or around Saint John, New Brunswick in the 1830s.
    -Smith, 7 Mundays Lane, Saumarez Ponds, NSW 2350, Australia. (02) 6775 1001. E-mail possum@northnet.com.au.

Query 1125
Phillips-Smith:
Richard S. Phillips married Charlotte Smith circa 1870 and lived in Upper Woodstock, Carleton County, New Brunswick. I am seeking documentation of his parents, who  may possibly be David Phillips and Mary Ann Shaw?
    -Rodrigo Phillips, 11781 Cotton Mill Dr., Woodbridge, VA, 22192, USA. E-mail rapwc1@aol.com.

Query 1126
Cole:
My genealogical line can be traced to James Cole who landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts
in 1633. In 1763, one of his descendants, Jonathan Cole, immigrated to Sackville, New Brunswick with other "New England Planter" families. I am interested in communicating with any descendants of Jonathan Cole, Esterbrook or Tower families who married Coles during the latter part of the 18th century.
    -George Cole, 3 Pinecone Circle, Carson City, NV, 89703, USA. E-mail to g.cole@direcway.com.


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