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New Brunswick

Travel back in time with genealogy road trips

Mum had warned me not to pedal my bike down Deacon's Hill but I couldn't resist feeling the wind in my face and a sense of power as I pedalled faster and faster.

Without warning, the chain flew off the sprocket, leaving me helpless to slow down. To add to my troubles, I hit some loose gravel and lost control.

My arms and knees bled as I pushed the bike home. Even worse, I had bent the wheel.

Mum brought out the iodine and bandages while Dad surveyed the damage. He said he could take the wheel from Gord's old bike and get me up and running again, news that helped to dry my tears.

When Gramp drove into the yard, he took one look at the disassembled bikes and extra parts and asked Dad, "Are you in the process of building a penny farthing bike like Burp Kilpatrick did?"

As usual, I didn't have a clue what he was talking about.

To my surprise, on a visit last month to the Agricultural Museum of New Brunswick in Sussex, a penny farthing bike built by Burp Kilpatrick of Upham more than 100 years ago was on display.

The frame was made of wood from the hornbeam tree. The iron was made by hand. The front wheel was from a horse driving carriage and the back wheel probably came from a baby carriage.

If your ancestors were farmers, the Agricultural Museum, which preserves and promotes New Brunswick's rural heritage, is an interesting place to visit. Hundreds of artifacts and documents have been carefully gathered over the years to build one of the most impressive collections in Atlantic Canada. Guests can tour displays of agricultural equipment, antique home settings, a school room and a train station.

Visitors from all over the world drop into this museum.

At the Kings County Museum in Hampton the exhibition "The Mysterious Stranger - Henry More Smith" has been set up in a jail cell in the old Kings County Gaol.

Kings County Historical and Archival Society, Inc. will host a heritage day at Hatfield Point Baptist Church Auditorium on August 23, starting at 2 p.m. with a genealogy fair. Bring your photos and material to share.

An exhibit commemorating the 225th anniversary of the landing of the Loyalists will be on display.

Old-fashioned games will begin at 3 p.m., followed by a pot-luck supper at 5 p.m. A Loyalist ghost walk will start at 6 p.m. in the adjoining Bayview Cemetery. Everyone is welcome.

Canada's Irish Festival on the Miramichi was founded in 1984 to promote and preserve the province's Irish heritage and culture. This July 17 - 20 is the festival's 25th year, where people of all ages will wear green to celebrate their Irish heritage. Visit http://www.newirelandnb.ca for details.

Those with Catholic Roots might want to visit the Archives of the Diocese of Saint John (1 Bayard Dr.). There are thousands of family group sheets compiled by staff and volunteers, just waiting to be viewed. Call 653-6807 or e-mail archives@dioceseofsaintjohn.org to make an appointment.

On Tuesday at 2 p.m. the New Brunswick Museum, Market Square, will hold a Victorian Tea and a chance to take a close look at Victorian costumes and accessories. Advance tickets are required and can be purchased by calling 643-2349.

On a rainy day, visit the Virtual Exhibits at http://website.nbm-mnb.ca/english/00aa.html.

The Ross Memorial Museum, 188 Montague St., St. Andrews, shows the extensive decorative arts collection of Henry Phipps Ross and Sarah Juliette Ross in Chestnut Hall, one of the town's finest neo-classical houses. Early 19th-century furniture by New Brunswick cabinetmakers Alexander Lawrence, Thomas Nisbet, Lordly and Howe and Alban Emery are also on display.

The Charlotte County Archives in the old Charlotte County Gaol, 123 Frederick St., St. Andrews, has thousands of documents, maps and photographs. Visit http://www.ccarchives.ca/archives.html.

Admission is free to the School Days Museum on the corner of Queen and York Streets in Fredericton. Visit http://museum.nbta.ca for details.

The Provincial Archives of New Brunswick 23 Dineen Dr., University of New Brunswick Campus, Fredericton, has documents and records of the history of New Brunswick.

There are 1,713,032 records in the online database at http://archives.gnb.ca, as well as 5,500 photographs and 56,591 documents.

Prepare your notes and do some homework before you set out on a summer journey in search of information on your ancestors in the province's many museums, libraries, archives, research institutions and cemeteries.

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Query 1607

Harris: I seek information on Rev. Hezaciah Harris, who probably was on the Baptist Field of Jemseg, which included other churches in the area, in the late 1800s.

E-mail mbpowell@nbnet.nb.ca

Query 1608

Allen-Tabor: I'm interested in finding the names of the parents and grandparents of Thomas Walker Allen, born 02 June 1848, died 07 Nov. 1941 at Hanford Brook, N.B. He married Martha Matilda Tabor of Hanford Brook, who died 31 Dec. 1923. Their children were Samuel 1870, Thomas George 1872, Mary 1880, James Abraham 1883, Margaret Jane circa 1885, and John Henry 1890.

Mark Allan, RR1, Foresters Falls, Ont. K0J 1V0

E-mail rcbl-mallan@bellnet.ca



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.

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