Finding Aid

A finding aid provides users of archives a point of access to archival records. In the case of RS555: Provincial Secretary: Immigration Administration Records the finding aid and index provide users with online access to the complete series through digitized microfilm originals. Transcriptions are also available for viewing with selected documents. To learn more about the series read the Background, Material, and Scope and Content included in the finding aid below.

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RS555: Provincial Secretary: Immigration Administration Records

Dates: 1811-1891

Physical Description: 80 cm. of textual records, 9 microfilm reels

Background

The Administration of emigration to New Brunswick was essentially the responsibility of the Office of the Provincial Secretary. In each of the major ports of entry, as well as in some of the interior districts, there were government emigrant officers who supervised the handling of the immigrants on their arrival, reported on their subsequent movements, and, in concert with the Commissioners of the Poor, administered whatever aid was allotted to them.

The Provincial Government was also active in advertising New Brunswick as a suitable spot for settlement. In 1840 a survey was initiated, at the behest of the colonial Commissioners of Land and Emigration in London, to ascertain employment possibilities, availability of land, and basic living conditions in the various counties of the Province. The results were published for the benefit of prospective emigrants in Europe.

Although there was a steady influx of immigrants from across the Atlantic Ocean entering New Brunswick in the first half of the nineteenth Century, famine in Ireland in the mid-1840s produced a virtual flood. Many of the immigrants brought with them disease, and accommodations for quarantining these unfortunates, such as Partridge Island in Saint John, were established.

After Confederation in 1867, the administration of immigration became a responsibility of the Government of Canada, although New Brunswick was still very much involved in handling those immigrants who arrived on her shores.

Material

For those hoping to use this series to find a particular ancestor, they are likely to be disappointed for these records do not contain many lists of immigrants (although there are a few, which are noted). If, however, the researcher is interested in documenting the experiences and plight of their ancestors who were involved in the several waves of immigration, this series is will prove valuable. From violations of the Passenger Act to disease and death in the Immigrant Station at Partridge Island, this series is noteworthy for the amount of detail it contains regarding the conditions of the immigrants, especially those from Ireland, on their arrival in New Brunswick. As well, there is a fairly detailed record of the passenger ships which arrived in the peak years of 1814 to 1867.

Aside from the information this series provides on the experience of the immigrant, the material also helps form a picture of what the Province had to offer the immigrant. This is especially well drawn in the immigration questionnaire of 1840.

Researchers should note that because immigration and settlement were important activities of the colonial administration of New Brunswick, records of value can also be found throughout the holdings of nineteenth century administrators. For example, the Records of the House of Assembly (RS24) and the Records of the Executive Council (RS6 and RS9) are particularly rich sources. Of use also, are the records of the lieutenant governors for the period: listed in Record Group 1. Passenger lists, which were considered ships' manifests, are found in RS23. Also, the local administration of immigration was recorded in the activities of the municipalities, including the county councils, which are listed in Record Group 18.

Scope and Content

Series comprises six sub-series: A. Administration; B. Ports of entry; C. Immigrants in York County; D. Immigrants in Victoria County; E. Immigrant societies and associations; F. Passage brokers and shipping agents. The records were produced by the immigration commissioners and agents in the submission of their returns to the Provincial Secretary documenting the experiences and plight of those who were involved in the several waves of immigration, and they help form a picture of what the province had to offer them. The immigration records do not contain many lists of immigrants, although there are a few. The ports of entry are Saint John, St. Andrews, Miramichi, Bathurst and Shippegan, Dalhousie, and Westmorland and Kent District.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. ADMINISTRATION

B. PORTS OF ENTRY

1. Saint John

2. St. Andrews

3. Miramichi

4. Bathurst and Shippegan

5. Dalhousie

6. Westmorland and Kent

C. IMMIGRANTS IN YORK COUNTY

D. IMMIGRANTS IN VICTORIA COUNTY

E. IMMIGRANT SOCIETIES AND ASSOCIATIONS

F. PASSAGE BROKERS AND SHIPPING AGENTS

G. Index

Guide to Records on Microfilm:

A1 to B1a2a1 F16224

B1a2a to B1c1 F16225

B1c2a to B6b F16226

C1 to F3 F16227

A. ADMINISTRATION

1. General Correspondence; 1811-1874

2. Correspondence with Provincial Secretary, Re:

a. General; 1816, 1841-1876, 1891

b. Requests from persons in the United Kingdom for information on relatives residing in New Brunswick; 1831, 1841-1863

c. Immigration of Orphans and Wards of the State; 1847-1848, 1851-1854, 1870-1871, 1874, 1878

d. Wesleyan Immigrants from Yorkshire, England; 1845

e. Money and effects of Deceased Immigrants; 1847-1855

3. Lieutenant-Governor Colebrooke's Report On Immigration to New Brunswick; 1842

4. Emigrant Fund

a. General Correspondence; 1841-1856

b. Petitions Requesting Disbursement of Funds; 1842, 1845, 1849

c. Reports on Emigrant Fund Accounts; 1836-1849

d. General Accounts; 1829-1874

5. Returns on Immigration to New Brunswick

a. Quarterly and annual Returns; 1842-1856

b. Cumulative Return for Period; 1844-1859

6. New Brunswick Government Colonization Circulars

a. Corrections and additions to Circulars; 1864

b. Summary of Responses to circular Regarding Employment Needs in New Brunswick; 1870

7. Commissioners of Colonial Land and Emigration

a. Immigration Questionnaire; 1840 (contains information on prospects for settlement in the various counties of New Brunswick)

1. Responses to Questionnaire (2 files)

2. Cumulative Results

b. Colonization Circular, 1847

8. Report on Nicholson, Breen, Collins, Macan, and McGuire Families, Irish Immigrants in York and Carleton Counties, c. 1847

9. Report on Immigration Settlements in New Brunswick; 1863 (provides name, county of settlement, the number of acres, the year of survey, rough estimate of number of settlers as of 1863)

^ Top | Index

B. PORTS OF ENTRY

1. Saint John

a. Government Emigrant Officers

1. Alexander Wedderburn

a. Correspondence, 1836, 1840-1841

b. Return of Immigration to Saint John, 1841

2. Moses Perley

a. Correspondence

1. General, 1844-1862

2. Shipwrecks and Ship Accidents, 1844, 1848-1849, 1851, 1854

3. Schedule of Correspondence, 1847

b. Annual Reports, 1845, 1847-1848, 1850

c. Material Relating to United Kingdom Visit, 1857

d. Report on Mechanics Settlement in Albert County; 1843

3. Robert Shives

a. Correspondence

1. General; 1858-1872

2. "Fair Isle" Immigrants; 1874

3. Danish Immigrants; 1874

4. Swedish Immigrants; 1881

b. Annual Reports; 1859, 1861-1863, 1865

b. Passenger Ships

1. Ships Returns (includes name of vessel, place of departure, date of arrival, number of passengers, number of deaths and births on board)

a. 1841-1844

b. 1861-1867

2. Reports on Ships Arrivals at and Departures for Saint John

Contains information provided by the Government Emigrant Officer at Saint John. Some provide detail on the class of passengers their experience on board, and their conditions on arrival

a. 1837, 1839, 1844-1849

b. 1850-1857, 1861-1867

3. Lists of Passenger Vessels to Saint John, 1841, 1847

4. Correspondence Relating to Violations of the Passengers Act

a. 1841-1846

b. 1847-1852

5. Correspondence Relating to the ship "Aeolus", 1847-1848

6. Correspondence Relating to the ship "Henry Patterson", 1845

c. Sick Immigrants

1. General Correspondence; 1846-1848, 1851-1853

2. Partridge Island

a. Correspondence; 1846-1854