Lilian Maxwell Genealogical Correspondence

MC300-MS3 York-Sunbury Historical Society Collection
Description (page 97)

If you are interested in any of these files then please contact the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick.

“Lilian Mary Beckwith Maxwell (1877-1956) was born in Fredericton, the daughter of Charles Beckwith and Mary Helen Glasier.  She graduated from the University of New Brunswick in 1898 with a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction in English.  She attended Wellington Teachers’ Training School in Massachusetts and the Provincial Normal School in Fredericton, and taught in Ludlow and Saint John.  She married James Brown Maxwell, an engineer.  After living in the United States for a short time, they, with their three children, settled in Fredericton.

Lilian Maxwell was a charter member of the York-Sunbury Historical Society, and wrote for the Society as well as for newspapers and magazines.  She had several books published including The History of Central New Brunswick and The River St. John and Its Poets.  She was a member of the Senate of the University of New Brunswick and received an honorary Doctorate of Laws from that Institution.  She was also a charter member of the Society for the prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and of the Governor Carleton Chapter of the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire.

Her other interests included art and antiques.  Maxwell was a very active member of the Historical Society and in some cases in this series, it is difficult to differentiate between her personal correspondence and research and that done on behalf of the Society.  She produced a great many family genealogies and responded to numerous inquiries in the form of letters to Maxwell, which date from 1932 to 1965.  They are arranged by the surname of the main family being researched.  The names in brackets are also mentioned in the correspondence and the date following the name refers to the date of the inquiry.  In many cases, the amount of genealogical information actually provided is minimal.  This series measures 50 centimeters.”

1   General information on genealogical procedure: 1938-1953

2   Abrahams (Abrams); 1938

3   Adams; 1937-52

4   Agnew; n.d.

5   Ahearn; 1947

6   Ansley; 1939

7   Allan (Allen); 1934-1943

8   Allison (Ellison); 1946

9   Anderson; 1944

10   Appleby; 1940

11   Armstrong; 1965

12   Arnold; n.d

13   Atchison; 1943

14   Atkinson; 1951

14a  Austin; 1949-1964

15   Ayer; 1950-1952

16     Babbit; n.d.

17     Bagley; 1944

18     Bailey; 1954

19     Barker; n.d.

20     Bassett; 1939

21     Baxter; 1937

22     Beach; 1942

23     Bearisto; 1950

24     Beckett; 1938

25     Beckwith; 1936-1940

26     Bedell; 1955

27     Derris (Dennis); 1958-1959

28     Bishop; 1944

29     Blakeney; n.d.

30     Bogert; (Bogart); 1965

31     Bonney; 1938-1953

32     Bowden; 1948

33     Bowen; 1944

34     Boyd; 1951

35     Radford; 1945-1948

36     Bradley; 1937

37     Brand; 1944

38     Brannen; 1931

39     Briggs; 1946

40     Brittain;1937

41     Brown; 1936

42     Brownell; 1937

43     Buchanan; 1937

44     Burnett; 1944

45     Burt; n.d.

46     Burton; 1949

47     Caldwell (Rowell); 1937

48     Calhoun; 1939

49     Calkin; 1965

50     Cameron (Lint; Cook); 1947

51     Camp; 1948

52     Campbell; 1935

53     Carl; n.d.

54     Carleton; 1936

55     Carlin (Carling); 1939

56     Carlisle; 1950

57     Carmen (Haight); 1950

58     Carmichael; 1938

59     Carney; 1950

60     Chase (Moore; Keezer); 1943-1944

61     Chestnut; 1951

62     Chipman; 1931

63     Clark; 1939

64     Clements; 1930

65     Cliff; 1935

66     Close; n.d.

67     Coates; 1946

68     Coddington; 1946

69     Cody; 1965

70     Cole; 1940

71     Coleman; 1934

72     Compton; 1947

73     Condon; 1950

74     Cook (Lint); 1934

75     Coon; 1933

76     Cougle (Allan; Lockwood); n.d.

77     Coulthard; 1964

78     Cox; n.d.

79     Crandall; 1941

80     Crane; 1939

81     Crighton; 1939

82     Croft (Simonds); 1945

83     Crouse; 1941

84     Cunningham; 1936

85     Cyr (Sears; Crock); 1946

86     Dailey; 1940

87     D’Amours; n.d.

88     Davidson; 1934-1946

89     Davis; 1949

90     Day; 1939-1942

91     DeVeber; n.d.

92     Doak; 1943

93     Dow; 1945

94     Drummond; 1940

95     Dunham (Close); n.d.

96     Earle (Fraser; Rapalje; Emerson); 1946

97     Ebberson; 1950

98     Edmonds; 1938

99     Edmondton; n.d.

100   Elliot (Murchie); 1937-1952

101   Ellis; 1951-1952

102   Emery; 1937

103   Estabrooks; 1955

104   Estey (Morehouse; Hartt; Cunningham); 1957

105   Finnimore; n.d.

106   Fitzgerald;l 1938-1939

107   Foreman (Moore); 1946

108   Forrester; 1947

109   Foshay (Jones; Dayton) 1940

110   Foster (Wortman); 1942-1949

111   Fowler (Bostwick; Odell; Cables); 1934

112   Fox (104th; Moran); 1946

113   Fraser (Frazer; Leonard; Rapelie; Grigor; Baby; Earle;

Hoare; N.B. Fencibles; Calder) 1949

114   French (Bennet); 1931

115   Fuller; 1943

116   Gage (Goucher); 1949

117   Gallant (Haches; Hacheys); 1965

118   Gamble (Howe); n.d.

119   Garden (Balloch; Thompson; Hewlett; Green); 1936

120   Garrison; 1946

121   Gaskin; 1937

122   Gault; 1941

123   Gaynor; n.d.

124   Gethchell (Jay; Jessey; Barnard; Fowler; Brown); 1948

125   Gilbert; n.d.

126   Gill; 1931

127   Glasier; n.d.

128   Glendenning (Perkins); 1953

129   Golden; 1947

130   Good; 1965

131   Gorham; 1933

132   Graham (Mitchey; Mitchell; Jackson); n.d.

133   Grant; 1953

134   Graves; 1949

135   Gray (Scott); 1954

136   Greenough; 1946

137   Gregory; 1938

138   Gunter; n.d.

139   Guyon (Guion; D’Amours; Freneuse); n.d.

140   Hailes (Sproule); 1943

141   Hall (Hart); 1933

142   Handy; 1939

143   Hanson; (Baldwin); 1953

144   Harding (Price; Fownes); 1954

145   Harley; 1956

146   Harper (Hastings); 1939

147   Harris; n.d.

148   Hartt; n.d.

149   Harvey; n.d.

150   Hatfield; 1938

151   Hatheway; n.d.

152   Hatton (Crerar); n.d.

153   Hawkins; n.d.

154   Hayes (Baxter); 1937

155   Hazen (Harley); n.d.

156   Henry; 1940

157   Hewlett (Whiting); 1942

158   Hierlihy; n.d.

159   Hill; n.d.

160   Hillman; n.d.

161   Hopkins (Bennison); 1948

162   Hopps (Bradford); 1954

163   Hovey; 1937

164   Howard; 1952

165   Howlet; n.d.

166   Hubbard; n.d.

167   Hunter; n.d.

168   Huston (Inches); 1938

169   Jackson; 1949

170   Jacob; 1953

171   James; 1940

172   Jarvis; n.d.

173   Jenkin; 1941

174   Jenks; 1948

175   Jewett (Beckwith; Juet); 1933-1948

176   Johnston (MacBeath); 1939

177   Jones; 1952

178   Keenan; 1965

179   Kennedy; 1934

180   Kenny (Kinny; Barlow; Kenney); 1934

181   Kent; n.d.

182   Ketchum; 1950; 1950-1953

183   Kimball; 1952

184   Lamoreaux; 1946

185   Lan (Long); 1946-1947

186   LaTour; n.d.

187   Lattie; 1949

188   Lawrance; 1938

189   Lawson; 1940

190   Leonard (Earl; Fraser); 1948

191   Lint; 1946

192   Lipsett (Coomb); n.d.

193   Little; 1942

194   Lord; 1953

195   Lounsbury; 1945

196   Ludlow; n.d.

197   MacBean; 1934

198   MacMillan; 1948

199   MacNaughton (Kerr; Gunn; Johnson-Johnston; Burnett; MacBeath); 1939

200   McCumber; n.d.

201   McGlinchey (Bailey); n.d.

202   McLeod (McLean; Price; Pond; MacKenzie); n.d.

203   McNeil (McNeal); n.d.

204   Manuel; 1952

205   Manzar; 1941

206   Marsh (March; La Marche); 1941

207   Mauger; 1933

208   Maxwell; 1948

209   Mersereau; 1933

210   Miles; n.d.

211   Millage; 1943

212   Mills (Olmstead); 1937

213   Minard; 1968

214   Minchin; 1946

215   Mitchell (Anderson); 1938

216   Mott; 1954

217   Mowry; 1939

218   Murray; 1931

219   Myler; 1933

220   Nadeau; 1941

221   Needham (Jouet; Yerxa; Fraser; Nadeau); 1947

222   Nevers (Innis; Gidney); 1953

223   Odell; 1942-1944

224   O’Meara (Meade); 1944

225   Oren (Coloured); n.d.

226   Owen (Medely; Kent; Wade; Arnold; Young); 1947

227   Paddock (Robinson); n.d.

228   Paine; 1952

229   Palmer; n.d.

230   Parent; 1937

231   Patterson; 1938

232   Peck (Pack); 1942

233   Perkins; 1938-1953

234   Perley; n.d.

235   Peters (Inches; Glasiers); 1938

236   Phair; 1952

237   Phillips; 1952

238   Pickard (Brill); 1941

239   Polley; 1933

240   Pond; 1950-51

241   Post (Bogart); 1938

242   Power; 1939

243   Price; 1947

244   Purdy (Currie); 1933-1949

245   Rand; 1943

246   Randall; 1935-1949

247   Rapalje (Vanderbury; Vanderburg); 1932

248   Raymond; 1945

249   Reid; 1931

250   Reynolds; 1950

251   Rideout; 1950

252   Roberts; 1938

253   Rockwell; 1948

254   Rosborough; n.d.

255   Ruby (Roby; Howe); 1952

256   Russel (Marsh); 1953

257   Ryerson; 1937

258   Saunders (Allen; Tabor); 1941

259   Say; 1950

260   Schrivner; 1933

261   Secord (Mabee); 1946

262   Seely (Ziele; Uziele); 1948

263   Segee (Noble); 1940

264   Sentall; 1932-1934

265   Sharp; 1945

266   Shaw; 1940-1947

267   Sherman; 1947

268   Sherwood; 1969

269   Shvieler; n.d.

270   Simonds; n.d.

271   Smith; 1935

272   Snider; 1945

273   Sqrague (Bonney); 1941

274   Sproule; 1931

275   Steeves; 1954

276   Stephenson (Coon); 1933

277   Stilson; 1945

278   Stow; 1939

279   Strange; 1933

280   Street; n.d.

281   Sutton; n.d.

282   Sypher; 1938

283   Terrill (Earle); 1928

284   Thomas (Bowden; Blaicher; Bleaker; Blackard; Blucher); 1939-1940

285   Thorton; 1952

286   Tibbits; 1952

287   Tingley; 1965

288   Todd; 1936-1938

289   Tomson; n.d.

290   Towers (McLaughlin); 1953

291   Townsend (Waugh; Carney); 1948

292   Trafton; 1947

293   Trecartin; 1948

294   Tribe; 1946

295   Turner; 1939-1943

296   Vail; 1938-1940

297   Valentine; n.d.

298   Vandenburg (VanAllen); 1933

299   Vanderbeck (Underhill); 1935

300   Van der Burgh; n.d.

301   Vardy (Verder); 1933

302   Vogler; 1937

303   Wallace; n.d.

304   Walsh; n.d.

305   Ward (Salisbury; Ayer; Finney; Dixon); 1939;1950

306   Wardell (Riseley); 1950

307   Webb; n.d.

308   Webster; 1939-1945

309   Welch; 1939

310   Weldon; 1952

311   Whelpley; 1941

312   Whitmore (Babbidge; Lyons); 1948

313   Lyon; 1959

314   Wilkinson; 1941

315   Williams (Reid; Morris; Van Buskirk); 1946

316   Willoughby (Herbert); 1939

317   Wilmot; 1932

318   Wilson; n.d.

319   Winslow (Winterbottom; Moodie); 1942

320   Woodforde (Winslow); 1940

321   Wolley (Slocum); 1940

322  Wortman; 1940

323  Yerxa; 1934-1942

324  Yeomans (Ferguson; Vanduson); 1946

325  Young; 1935

326  Hamlyn; 1956

327  Grasse (Bubar; Howland; Degrasse; Phillips); 1956-1961

328  Ketcheson; 1956

329 Goldrup (Gooldrup); 1956

MC 300 – York Sunbury Historical Society Archival Collection

1974.1.36 Little Sarah

The York Sunbury Historical Society has been collecting records and artefacts pertaining to the history of central New Brunswick (Canada) since 1932.  It was decided in 1968 that the vast archival collection that they had would best be stored in the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick (PANB) temperature controlled storage facility; a safer environment for such a valuable collection. 

Over the course of several years, the archival collection was sorted, organized and catalogued into the MC300 Finding Aid, has been added to over the years and continues to grow. 

There is so much in this collection but few people know it exists.  However, if you are researching Fredericton or a topic pertaining to central New Brunswick then there is a good chance there is something in there that would be of use.  The most up-to-date version is available to download in PDF format from the York Sunbury Museum website but over time, we would like to cut and paste interesting collection descriptions to the blog to bring them out of the finding aid and into cyberspace.  I hope that this will help researchers/genealogists who don’t normally visit the PANB find sources and records pertaining to their topic/family.  

The York Sunbury Historical Society still collects historical archival records for exhibits and research and as we do, we transfer them to the PANB and they are eventually added to the MC300.  We are currently taking an inventory of documents held at the PANB that are currently waiting to be catalogued. 

Barker House Chair

1988.7.1 - Barker House Chair

Sometimes staff members have questions about artefacts that we can’t answer so we refer them to a volunteer.  Here is one of those cases:

Question:  “K. found a chair labelled “Barker House” and when we looked at the file we discovered that this chair was retrieved from Barker House “after the fire.”  There are no details about the fire, do you know anything about it?”

Reply #1:  “I cannot ascertain the date of the fire (or at least the particular fire, which prompted the donation).  I will keep an eye out, but this is the very nature of research – nuggets are more often than not “accidentally” discovered (all my best stuff is found on the path of other research). I’m left wondering in this case which fire and was it one even reported in the local paper. Even isolating all the fires, there would be a lingering uncertainty about the donation date. I expect that I shall run across this item in due course and I will let you know what I find.”

Reply #2:  “I’m so excited because a little digging has resulted in a date for a fire (let’s hope it is the one in question). 26 May 1939 – HUGE fire originating in the Barker House stables spread largely to houses on King Street and the Gaiety Theatre. My landlord’s father, one of the firemen who responded to the call, was actually injured in the process! Talk about close to home!

I’m copying the newspaper bits. Research is so fun!”

A BIG thank you to our volunteer researchers!!

It was a dreary July Sunday at the York Sunbury Museum ….

Provincial Archives of New Brunswick P14-4 Harvey Studio Fonds

I don’t necessarily mind yucky summer days at the museum … we tend to have lots of visitors when the weather is bad making our day a little busier and usually a little more interesting.  Our summer hours are 12 to 5pm on Sundays but I had decided to open early since my daughter who had come in to help out at the museum insisted.  Three lovely ladies showed up at the door and were delighted to see we were open … I believe they walked up to the museum to check our hours.  Enid, Mary and Janet were looking for information about the Phillips family genealogy in York County New Brunswick and maybe something about their Loyalist ancestor Cornelius Ackerman the owner of the Golden Ball Hotel/Ackerman Tavern in late 1700’s in Fredericton.  

"Thanks again for the wonderful time that we had at the Museum in Fredericton. We were especially happy with our tour by your daughter." ~ Janet

Our Sunday morning guests took a tour of the museum guided by my daughter who has taken an interest in my work and in history.  They tried on the Loyalist soldier costume, the Acadian outfits and enjoyed the many artefacts that we have on display.  As they explored I kept thinking about the name Ackerman … where did I come across that name recently?  I was doing admissions so I couldn’t stray to far from the office but when they came down from exploring the galleries I enquired a little more about their research and it came to me!

We were in the middle of preparing our Museum Treasure: A Celebration exhibit where we were putting out some of our special artefacts and some of our more unusual ones as well.  The unusual ones don’t always fit neatly into a theme and are not placed on exhibit very often.  Some of the unusual artefacts include a piece of coronation cake from 1911 and an iron border marker from when New Brunswick was larger and Maine was smaller!  Pretty cool!  We were also putting out some of our newer items such as a part of the Dr. Likely collection and a pair of little shoes made by a New Brunswick blacksmith for his son.

Cornelius was Enid's third great grandfather.

One thing that the staff and volunteers stumbled on last Spring while working in the collection was a large and heavy corner beam.  It doesn’t look like much, big squared pieces of hewn lumber with a corner joint … actually it is amazing to think about the skill that would have gone into constructing a corner like that without the aid of modern tools and measuring devices.  As it turned out, this corner joint was part of the Ackerman Tavern that Cornelius Ackerman owned and operated in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s.  Located somewhere between Queen and St. John Streets this building was built by Olivier Thibodeau and was one of the first buildings in Fredericton.  Oliver sold it to Cornelius and Abraham van der Beck both Loyalists from the 3rd New Jersey Volunteers.  It was the home of the first Governor and his family while they waited for their house to be built!  Unfortunately, it was torn down in the 1960’s.

Janet and Mary are descendants of Cornelius Ackerman and his wife Fanny Lawrence, through their daughters Elsy Ann (Phillips) and Mary Elizabeth (Stevens). Cornelius Ackerman is their 4th Great Grandfather.

These ladies were thrilled!  The artefact was handy since we were preparing to put it on exhibit and so I had Matt help to haul it out … it weighs A LOT!!  To think that this family’s ancestor owned the building that this artefact came from was amazing and it was a thrill for them to see it.  They took several pictures, some of which are included in this blog, examined every inch and were so happy that by chance they came to my door and by chance we were open even though we would have normally had been closed.

Enid, Mary and Janet were very happy that I brought my daughter to work with me that day.  The exhibit is now open … if you’re in Fredericton you should drop by and check it out!!

Ruth

Museum Treasures: A Celebration

Glass plate advertisement from the Matthew's Cabinet

The York Sunbury Historical Society and Museum is inviting everyone to the celebration of their 75/50 Anniversary. The festivities will be held on August 1st at the museum’s location in Officer’s Square.

This year the York Sunbury Historical Society is celebrating its 75th year of being incorporated. As well, it is the 50th Anniversary of the museum’s location in the Officer’s Quarters.

To celebrate, the museum will hold the Grand Opening of its newest exhibit Museum Treasures: A Celebration. The exhibit will highlight not only the history of the society, but will display some of the museum’s most significant and interesting artefacts.

There will be a dedication of one of the museum’s newest artefacts, a display cabinet featuring the original advertisements for local Fredericton businesses from the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. The cabinet was generously donated by William and Janet Matthews of Ottawa and will be dedicated in memory of Janet Matthews’ father, Allan A. Ramey.

In the afternoon, starting at 1 pm, the York Sunbury Museum is inviting the Fredericton Community to join us for an open house. There will be door prizes and entertainment for children. This celebration has been made possible through funding from Downtown Fredericton Inc.

The York Sunbury Historical Society and Museum looks forward to this opportunity to share Fredericton’s fascinating history with the public.

Staff