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ONLINE RESOURCES ARE A RESEARCHER’S FRIEND

Website of the New Brunswick Public Library Services


I
t 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.


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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.

New and Used Genealogical and Historical books of
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