Diary of a
Frenchman - François Lambert Bourneuf's
Adventures from France to Acadia
and
Gems
in the Newsletters of Societies
I was
often disappointed when neighbours visited my grandfather. It usually
meant Grampy wouldn't share as many stories with us that night. My
disappointment turned to joy one day, however, by a visitor, in his
80s, who talked of days gone by and the experiences he and Grampy
shared.
I listened attentively. I pictured women using a dash churn to make
butter. They would pour buttermilk into jugs, wrap freshly-made bread
in cotton cloths and carefully wash eggs to place in a basket for a
trip to Saint John.
I imagined the express wagon, pulled by a good trotter, taking these
items to be sold or traded for supplies. Potatoes and vegetables were
always needed by city folk so they were good sellers.
François Lambert Bourneuf crossed the Bay of Fundy every two
weeks in his small schooner to trade eggs, potatoes, butter and other
products with Joseph Joppe LeBlanc and Charles Michaud Melanson.
In 1859, when he was 71 years old, Francois Lambert Bourneuf wrote the
story of his life.
The autobiography tells of his childhood in France; his experiences in
Regneville, Normandy; the methods of a priest who thought a punch
between the shoulder blades would better his education; and about the
sudden death of his mother. He also wrote about his experiences as a
sailor aboard a French frigate. It was captured in 1809 by the British,
which led to a stay in the Melville Prison on the Northwest Arm in
Halifax. The description of prison life and his attempts to escape with
others were eye-opening.
In 1818, he married Marie Doucet who gave birth to seven children
between 1819 and 1838. He settled near St. Mary's Bay, where he became
a businessman, shipbuilder and a member of the Nova Scotia Legislative
Assembly from 1843 to 1859.
Financial woes forced Bourneuf to declare bankruptcy in 1855.
Diary of a Frenchman -
François Lambert Bourneuf's Adventures from France to Acadia
1787-1871, edited and translated by J. Alphonse Deveau and
published in 1990, provides a glance into the conditions of life on
both sides of the Atlantic.
Readers may also be interested in collections available at the Acadian Museum and Archives in West
Pubnico, N.S. It houses the private collection of local historian
Clarence J. d'Entremont, among others. The research centre offers more
than 5,000 library books and periodicals (historical and genealogical),
genealogies, land grants, deeds, microfilms, maps, photographs, church
records and more.
Father Clarence J. d'Entremont wrote
100 articles for publication in the Yarmouth Vanguard from 1989 to
1990. These are available for viewing on the Acadian Museum and
Archives' website at
museeacadien.ca/english/archives/articles/index.htm. One of the
articles is titled, The Escape of Francois L. Bourneuf which provides
details on his escapade, which lasted more than three years.
Speaking of stories, the Queen's
County Historical Society's newsletter - Vol. I, No. 6,
published in December, 1981, includes an article about "a poor frozen man" found in the
wilderness near Cane's River, Northumberland County by a lumbering
party (circa 1859). A bill from Dr. Harry Peters in 1861 was submitted
for attendance, medications and a fee for amputation of his legs. Jerome, the man without legs, was
found abandoned on the beach at Sandy Cove, N.S. in August, 1863.
The issue also has the School Return
of 1844 for District No. 1, Parish of Hampstead; a recipe for
buckwheat pancakes; and information from a booklet titled The Farmers of New Brunswick 1883.
The booklet lists the customers who bought reapers and two-horse power
threshing machines from Johnston & Co. An index of 26 years of
newsletters is available at the research centre of the Queen's County
Court House Museum in Gagetown.
A very tragic story, titled The
Salted Dead by Captain James F. Alcorn from the Saint John
Albion, Saturday, Feb. 18, 1860 edition, was published in the Kings
County Historical and Archival Society newsletter in 1980 - 1981. The
vessel left Saint John on Aug. 13, 1846. The captain was John Clark.
Three years later, the wreck was found by a ship with Captain Howard at
the helm. Upon entering the locked staterooms, a sad tale unfolded. You
can view an index of the newsletters of the Kings County Historical and
Archival Society at the Kings County Museum in Hampton.
Twenty-three issues, 1995-2006, of the newsletter of the Associates of
the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick can be read online at http://archives.gnb.ca/Associates/Newsletters.aspx?L=EN.
A table of contents from 2002 to the present of Generations, the
publication of the New Brunswick Genealogical Society is also available
at http://nbgssj.ca.
Stories of happiness, sadness,
tragedy and the unexplainable can be found in the newsletters of many
historical and genealogical societies.
On your next visit to a research
repository make an inquiry as to their holdings of these gems filled
with information.
Query 1540
McDonald
- Ferris: David McDonald married Elizabeth Nancy Ferris on
Aug. 8, 1851 in Johnston Parish. I am interested in finding the names
of their parents and siblings. Both are listed in the 1861 and 1871
census for Cambridge Parish area.
BRUCE MacDONALD
153 Timber Lane
Hanover, PA
17331, U.S.A.
E-mail clandonald1@comcast.net
Query 1541
Brownlee
- Walker: Sarah Brownlee married James Walker 15 Apr 1822,
St. Andrews Church, Saint John, New Brunswick. They returned to England
1827. She was born in Enniskillen, Ireland in 1799. Am seeking
information on her brother James, who petitioned for land in Saint John
in 1818 and in1827 when he was 31.
E-mail b1923@shaw.ca
Query 1542
Eccles:
Capt. James Eccles, Loyalist, born Roscommon Co. Ireland, landed 1783
in Parr Town New Brunswick, following revolutionary war. Married Ann
Clarke. Settled in Douglas, York County. Died 20 May 1839 in
Fredericton. Buried in the Old Burying Ground, Fredericton N.B.
J. KEITH CARTER
E-mail j.keith.carter@sympatico.ca
Query 1543
Hanley -
Reynolds: I am looking for information on the descendants of
John Hanley, son of Patrick and Bridget (nee Reynolds) Hanley of
White's Mountain, Kings County, New Brunswick. John was born circa 1846
and died in his 43rd year, at his Farren Street home on the 6th
January, 1890. His wife's name was Margaret. He is buried in St.
Joseph's Cemetery, Saint John.
DEBBIE HANLEY McKEE
16 Heritage Court,
Fall River, NS
Canada, B2T 1E7
E-mail bdmckee@ns.sympatico.ca
Query 1544
Crossman
- McCarty: I am interested in finding ancestors or any
information on Joshua or Josiah Crossman (1849) and his wife Margaret
(McCarty) (1846). They are both buried in the Brown's Yard Cemetery in
Bass River, Kent County, N.B. Their children were: Thomas 1871, Joseph
1872, William 1878, Ebenezer James 1879, Joshua 1882, Margaret 1887,
Mary Crossman 1881 and Catherine 1875.
KELLY CROSSMAN BAKER
23 Rennie Lane
Milford, Nova Scotia
Canada, B0N 1Y0
E-mail kbaker@rushcomm.ca
Query 1545
Scribner:
I am searching for photos and information on Dingee Scribner
(1817-1900) or his fishing tackle shop located at 59 King Square, Saint
John, N.B.
LARRY LUNMAN
1170 Thousand Islands Parkway
Mallorytown, ON
Canada, K0E 1R0
E-mail ironknees@sympatico.ca
