The Province of New Brunswick, Canada is divided into fifteen counties. The counties are divided into several divisions called parishes. Over the earlier years the counties boundaries were changed and parishes divided and subdivided due to increases in population. Understanding the county formation makes it easier to locate an ancestor on census returns. Refer to the County Guides for the Province of New Brunswick provided by the PANB for census microfilm references.
Carleton County was separated in 1832 from the northern part York County which was one of the original eight counties created in 1784. In 1844 Victoria County was established from part of Carleton. Researchers are reminded that pre-1831 genealogical data for Carleton County is described in the genealogical guide for York County which is available from the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick upon request by mail and online.
Parish |
Year Established |
History and Location of Carleton County Parishes |
| Aberdeen | 1863 | Created from Kent and a part of Brighton. Includes the settlement of Knowlesville. |
| Brighton | 1830 | Part of York County until 1831. Created from Wakefield and included Peel until 1859. Bounded by the County line in the south east, south by Northampton Parish, westerly by the Saint John River. North by the Aberdeen Parish. Knowlesville was in the Parish of Brighton until Aberdeen was created. |
| Kent | 1821 | Part of York County until 1831. Included Wicklow until 1833, Aberdeen until 1863, all of Victoria County until 1851, and Madawaska County until 1873. Bounded south by Peel and Aberdeen Parish. East and south east by Aberdeen Parish and the County Line. North by the county line with Victoria and west by the Saint John River. Settlements include Johnville and Bath. |
| Northampton | 1786 | Part of York County until 1831. It included Southampton until 1833. Bounded by the York County line in the south east. West by the Saint John River. The Parish of Wakefield is across the river. Brighton Parish is to the north. |
| Peel | 1859 | Created from Brighton. Bounded by Brighton parish in the south and south east, easterly by Aberdeen, west by the Saint John River and north by Kent. |
| Richmond | 1853 | Created from Woodstock. Bounded in the north by the Meduxnakeag River; and the South Branch Meduxnakeag River: easterly by Woodstock Parish: westerly by the State of Maine and southerly by the county line with York. |
| Simonds | 1842 | Created from part of Wakefield. Bounded east by the Saint John River, south by Wakefield, western boundary is the Wilmot and north by Wicklow. Settlements include Good, New Ireland, Williamston, McCafferty and Upper Presque Isle. |
| Wakefield | 1803 | Part of York County until 1831. Included Simonds Parish until 1842 and Brighton until1830. In the west it is bounded by the international border, south by Richmond and Woodstock Parishes, and east by the Saint John River. |
| Wicklow | 1833 | Set off from Kent. It is bounded by the River de Chute in the north (Victoria County); westerly by the State of Maine; east by the Saint John River, and south by the Parishes of Simonds and Wilmot. Florenceville is in this parish. On the Woodstock Parish side of the river. |
| Wilmot | 1867 | Created from Simonds. Bounded by Simonds Parish in the east, west by the international border and south by Wakefield Parish and north by Wicklow. |
| Woodstock | 1786 | Part of York County until 1831. Included Dumfies until 1833 and part of Richmond until 1853. North bounded by Wakefield, westerly by Richmond, south by Canterbury Parish, York County, east by the Saint John River. |
Census
Census information: Researching Your Ancestors in New Brunswick, Canada, by Robert F. Fellows (1979, Fredericton) has a list of surviving census returns. The 1871 enumeration was April 2nd and covered Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario and included country or province of birth as well as origin. 1881 was the first year a nation wide census was taken and every tenth year until 1971 then every fifth year. 1901 and previous censuses are available to the public.
Statistics Canada, Canada's census office, with the prompting of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has sealed the 1911 and later Canadian censuses from public viewing because they believe that a guarantee of confidentiality will make it easier to ensure co-operation during further population enumeration's. The 1911 census had been scheduled for public release in 2003. In the past the 1891 and 1901 census were microfilmed by Statistics Canada, then turned over to the National Archives and released to the public after the passing of 92 years from the date of enumeration.
Unindexed census microfilms for every tenth year 1851 to 1901 cannot be borrowed from the Provincial Archives in Fredericton but can be ordered by interlibrary loan from the National Archives of Canada, 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa K1A ON3, Ontario, Canada or the many branches of the Family History Library. Below are the reel #'s for census returns for the parishes of Carleton County, New Brunswick that may be purchased or borrowed, three reels at a time for one month, from the National Archives.CANB Publications
Population in the District next above the Parishes of Woodstock and Northampton, extending to the River De Chute 1803.
Where to locate a Carleton Co. related census:
| Census | 1851 | 1861 | 1871 | 1881 | 1891 |
| Aberdeen | Kent | Kent | C-10384 C-10385 | C-13182 | T-6297 |
| Brighton | C-994 | C-999 | C-10385 | C-13183 | T-6297 |
| Kent | C-994 | C-999 | C-10384 | C-13182 | T-6297 T-6298 |
| Northampton | C-994 | C-999 | C-10385 | C-13183 | T-6298 |
| Peel | Brighton | C-999 | C-10385 | C-13182 | T-6298 |
| Richmond | Woodstock | C-999 | C-10384 | C-13182 | T-6298 |
| Simonds | C-994 | C-1000 | C-10384 | C-13182 | T-6298 |
| Wakefield | C-994 | C-1000 | C-10384 | C-13182 | T-6298 |
| Wicklow | C-994 | C-1000 M-599 | C-10384 | C-10382 | T-6298 |
| Wilmot | Simonds | Simonds | C-10384 | C-13182 | T-6298 |
| Woodstock | C-994 | C-1000 | C-10383 C-10384 | C-13182 | T-6298 |
Woodstock (Town/Ville) 1881 C-13183, 1891 T-6298.
Note: A published copy of each of the 1851 and 1891 Carleton County census can be purchased from PANB. "The New Brunswick Census of 1851 Carleton County New Brunswick, Canada". Robert F. Fellows, Editor. ISBN 0-88838-041-0. See bibliography section. This book contains a history of Carleton County, a breakdown of the inhabitants of the Carleton County by age and occupation, a listing of men of the DeLancey Regiments who settled in Carleton County in 1784 and origins of place names in the county as well as the 1851 county census. The book New Brunswick Census of 1851 Carleton County is found at the libraries listed below as well as other facilities.
State Library Comments DC Library of Congress Washington IL Newberry Chicago IN Allen County Public Fort Wayne MA American Antiquarian Society Worcester MA Boston Public MA New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston ME Maine State Augusta ME University of Maine Presque Isle NS Killiam Dalhousie University, Halifax TX Dallas Public TX Clayton Houston
Military Resources
for New Brunswick
NB Military
There are various Muster Rolls and Paylists for some units of the militia in both the Provincial Archives and the New Brunswick Museum.Consult the PANB "Guide to the Manuscript Collections" for an inventory. Manuscript Collection #497 military and militia records at the PANB contain contain correspondence, commissions, troop supply documents, pay rolls, desertion records, and order books. About 180 reels of microfilmed Loyalists military records formerly kept in the Admiralty, War, and Audit Offices in London, and another 140 reels of British Military records pertaining to New Brunswick and to other British colonies are available to be used at Fredericton or borrowed from the National archives in Ottawa.
Consult the PANB "Guide to the Government Records Collections" for an inventory. Old Soldiers and Widow Pensions (RS566) contain copies of petitions, schedules and letters referring to over 400 War of independence soldiers or their widows. These file names contain interesting biographical data. Reference: Family History Resources at the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick by Robert F. Fellows. Free for the asking from the PANB.
PANB: In the Genealogical section, General Reference Collection files under Loyalists files:
Delancey's Loyalist Battalion, 1784, New Jersey and New York Volunteers etc.Esther Clark Wright The Loylists of New Brunswick
William S. Wallace The United Empire Loyalist: A Chronicle of the Great Migration.
Robert F. Fellows New Brunswick Census of 1851 Carleton County contains a listing of men of the DeLancey Regiments who settled in Carleton County in 1784. These where gathered from land records and from Jacob Smith's 1785 Return to the Provincial Government of settlers on land granted to the DeLancey Regiment (Archives Department of the New Brunswick Museum, Raymond Papers.)National Archives of Canada
Military Records
Cyndi's Canada Military
Soundex ConverterNewspapers
Read the local newspaper for the time period to gain an understanding of hardships your ancestors endured. If a local newspaper did not exist for a time period check metropolitan newspapers indexes that circulated in the area as they reported regional news. You can never be sure how accurate an index is. Page by page searching can increase your chance of finding genealogical material.
For a complete list of provincial newspapers, consult New Brunswick Newspaper Directory: 1783-1996 Craig, Helen C. & Beyea, Marion. Fredericton : Council of Head Librarians of New Brunswick, 1996. (Available from the Saint John Free Public Library). The book is organized by locale and lists years published, microfilm data and notes about missing issues.
Researchers should consult the serial publication "Vital Statistics From New Brunswick Newspapers" for birth, marriage and death notices for the years from 1784 to the 1880's. Available at many libraries and the PANB. (Available from Dan Johnson, PO Box 26025, Saint John, NB, E2J 4M3).
Bell, David Graham, Nominal index to the Carleton Sentinel. Woodstock, 1979.
Bell, David Graham, Nominal index to the Woodstock Times and the Woodstock Reformer / D. G. Bell. Woodstock, N. B. : 1981. Available at the SJ Free Public Library
Brown, George S. Yarmouth Nova Scotia Genealogies Transcribed the Yarmouth Herald Genealogical Publishing Co. A valuable resource for anyone researching the families that came to the Knowlesville area from Yarmouth Co. NS in 1861. e.g. Cook, Doucette, Frost, Hobbs, Kenny, Ricker, Spinney, Wheaton and Whitehouse. Lookups Yarmouth Co., NSGenWeb Project
Kimball, Carroll Carleton Sentinel index, July 1867-Dec 1870, births, marriages, deaths. Carroll Kimball, 1982.
Refer to Carleton Co. Genealogical Guide 1996 for newspapers resources available from the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick.
British Templar
Carleton Times
Dispatch. Woodstosck, N. B. : 1894-1904. Woodstock library
Hartland Observer On microfilm at the Hartland Library
Royal Gazette
The Morning Freeman (1860-1900) available on interlibrary loan
Woodstock Bugle (est. 1969) The early issues of THE BUGLE were lost in a fire in 1984. However, they do still have all of them at the library, on microfilm. This is the 30th anniversary year of the Woodstock Bugle. They will be celebrating this in the fall, with many articles directed toward the history of the area. Published Wednesdays. 110 Carleton St. Woodstock. E7M 1E4 ph: (506) 328-8863"The Bugle is a community newspaper with all the local news and ads of our community and is a paid circulation paper of 6150. Bugle Plus is a shopper which goes to every door in the area free and has a circulation of 13,250. Bugle Plus accepts submissions from the general public that include family histories, poems, pictures and almost anything they wish to say. Bugle Plus has no editorial staff and is a sales driven publication as opposed to The Bugle which is an editorial product. Email to submit stories etc. We are only interested in articles of Carleton County or at least New Brunswick." courtesy of David Henley October 26, 1998
THE OBSERVER
"The friendship of those we serve is the foundation of our progress" Now in our 89th year, established in 1909. 376 Main Street, Hartland, N.B., E7P 2N2 Contact : Diane Dow. Telephone: (506) 375-4458 Fax: (506) 375-4281. Published each Tuesday, $1.00, by Covered Bridge Printing Ltd. Contains the usual local news, obituaries, reunion write ups etc. They will accept genealogy enquiries for their newspaper.
A searchable database of current classified ads from various newspapers in New Brunswick including, death announcements
Newspapers online
Telegraph Journal (Saint John, New Brusnwick)
Times Globe (Saint John, New Brusnwick)
Index to Death Roll of the Saint John Globe 1897 to 1899
National Library of Canada Newspapers held. Available on inter-library loan through the services of your local library.
Probate Records
Mr R.Wallace Hale spent a couple of years writing detailed abstracts of all the existing New Brunswick probate files from 1785 to 1835, working from the actual files and comparing them to the microfilms of the probate registers. Heritage Books, Inc., Bowie, MD, published the work in 1989, some 500 pages plus index. Evidently it's still in print.
Sample entry (random selection):MAPHET, James
No residence cited, Kings Co., Yeoman. Will dated 7 July 1802,
proved 1 December 1802.
Entire estate to be divided among my three brothers, Dan, Robert and Samuel, and my sister Margaret. Friends William KEARNEY and William Brazier HAWES executors. Witnesses: William PURSELL, Richard
BROWN, William Brazier HAWES.
The index includes names of all persons mentioned, testators, heirs, witnesses, executors and administrators. Mr Hale tried to make it as complete as humanly possible, given the resources still in existence, and included all relevant detail. Detailed estate inventories could NOT be included, but frequently the value of such inventories was mentioned. Lookups
Unfortunately, the Kent County records were lost in a fire in 1940, the Charlotte County register for the period 1823 - 1829 is missing, and there were some problems with both York and St. John County records.Time Line
Carleton County's development and migration patterns.
| 1713 | The Queen Anne's War in Europe was settled and England became heir to all French Acadia |
| 1784 | New Brunswick created. Separated from Nova Scotia. Thomas Carleton was the first Governor |
| 1784 | Loyalist Americans sailed up the Saint John River and settled near Woodstock |
| 1785 | Loyalists found conditions harsh and many emigrated |
| 1832 | Carleton Co. created from York Co. Woodstock, Northampton, Wakefield, Kent and Brighton |
| 1833 | Wicklow Parish created from Kent |
| 1842 | Simonds was created from Wakefield. The international boundary with Maine settled |
| 1844 | Victoria County was created from part of Carleton County. |
| 1851 | Population 11,108. One tenth were foreign born mostly from the British Isles |
| 1853 | Richmond created from Woodstock |
| 1856 | Town of Woodstock incorporated |
| 1859 | Peel was created from Brighton |
| 1861 | Twelve families from Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia settled the Knowlesville area |
| 1863 | Aberdeen was created from Kent. The county has an area of 1,300 square miles |
| 1864 | Skedaddlers from Maine arrived |
| 1870's | The Saint John River was a busy highway with paddle steamers and barges carrying logs |
| 1880's | Young women seek employment in the textile mills of Lewiston, Maine |
| 1890's | Lumbering industry boom continues |
| 1895 | US started keeping border crossing records. Canadians moved freely to the United States until then |
| 1899 | Covered bridge across the Saint John River built at Hartland |
| 1900's | Young men head to Western Canada to seek employment during the harvest seasons |
| 1900's | Lumbering boom continues |
| 1930's | Detroit lures men to jobs in the car manufacturing and construction |
| 1940's | Carleton County becomes a prime growing area for seed potatoes due to the Saint John River valley rich soils |
| 1950's | Fast food revolution. Frozen vegetables and potato products processors McCain Foods of Florenceville expand |
| 1961 | Population 21,711 |
| 1963 | The Provincial Government was restructured |
| 1991 | Population 26,026 |
