New Brunswick Newspapers

Online Records

 * Historical Canadian Newspapers Online: New Brunswick, BGSU
 * Daniel F. Johnson’s New Brunswick Newspaper Vital Statistics (1784-1896) New Brunswick Provincial Archives
 * Vital Statistics From New Brunswick Newspapers
 * Kings County Record Newspaper : Death Index, 1897-1936 (MC3952 : John Fynn Collection)
 * Marriages of New Brunswick from newspapers and church records

County Guides
The County Guides give details on available newspapers.
 * County Guides

Resources for New Brunswick Newspapers
The Royal Gazette and New Brunswick Advertiser’s first extant issue is dated October 11, 1785. Published in Saint John until 1815, then in Fredericton, it was the official paper in which the government announced appointments and printed notices of new legislation. In the early days, like the official Gazette in most colonies, it functioned somewhat like a newspaper, but marriage and death notices were limited to very important people and the best most family historians can hope for is some paid announcement about an estate.

Other publishers in the main settlements soon filled the vacuum: in Saint John the Saint John Gazette (1784-1807) and the New Brunswick Courier (1811-1865), were among the earliest, and in Chatham, the Chatham Mercury (1826-1829) then the Gleaner (1829-1880) served the whole Mirimichi and Northumberland County area. The numbers of newspapers, mostly weekly or semi-weekly proliferated in the late 19th and early 20th century.

The contents of these papers were in large part reprinted from British or American sources, but the editorial, a couple of columns of local news, some death and marriage announcements (very few births) and the advertising or notices by local businesses will offer a good record of community affairs. James A. Fraser’s history of Chatham, By Favourable Winds, makes extensive use of the newspaper notices and advertising in his biographical listing of the residents of the town and is a good example of what to look for beyond the begats.

Many early newspapers mention marriages, deaths, and a few births. J. Russell Harper's Historical Directory of New Brunswick Newspapers and Periodicals lists the different newspapers in New Brunswick and tells where they can be found.

Newspaper Directories

 * Helen Craig and Muriel Daniel. New Brunswick newspapers directory, 1783-1996 = Répertoire des journaux du Nouveau-Brunswick.  WorldCat 2nd edition. Council of Head Librarians of New Brunswick, 1996.


 * J. Russell Harper. Historical directory of New Brunswick newspapers and periodicals. WorldCat   University'' of New Brunswick, 1961.

Community/Current Newspapers

 * NB Links--Community Newspaper Links to current newspapers

Libraries and Archives
Provincial Archives of New Brunswick (PANB) Bonar Law-Bennett Building 23 Dineen Drive University of New Brunswick Campus Fredericton, New Brunswick Mailing Address: P.O. Box 6000 Fredericton, New Brunswick E3B 5H1 Telephone: (506)453-2122
 * New Brunswick Newspaper Directory:

The province’s largest collections of newspapers are at:


 * Harriet Irving Library University of New Brunswick P.O. Box 7500 Fredericton, New Brunswick E3B 5H5 (Street address: 5 MacAulay Lane) Telephone: (506) 453-4740
 * Newspaper Guide


 * Legislative Library of New Brunswick 706 Queen Street P.O. Box 6000 Fredericton, New Brunswick E3B 5H1 Telephone: (506)453-2338 Email: [mailto:library.biblio-info@gnb.ca library.biblio-info@gnb.ca]
 * The Legislative Library also has a large collection. They have all New Brunswick newspapers and also make clippings files by subject from the four provincial dailies “concerning public issues and the activities of the New Brunswick government” so it appears unlikely these will be of use to genealogists.

French-language Newspapers
The Acadian population has been less well-served, but there were two papers published in the Moncton area: Le Moniteur Acadien (1867-1926) and L’Evangeline (1887-1982). The [Université de Moncton, CENTER FOR ACADIAN STUDIES ANSELME-CHIASSON has published Inventaire du “Moniteur acadien,” 1867-1926, a selective index of articles of Acadian interest, and those with genealogical and family history information. Check their webpage and lists of publications to see what other more recent indexing has been published. There are some, for limited time spans, and you might be lucky and find they include the years you want.

In Bathurst, LAC lists Le courrier des Provinces Maritimes published from 1885 to 1899 and 1900 to 1903, as well as many short-lived local publications that sprang up in the 1980s to replace L’Evangeline. If you need to locate French-language newspapers, consult the Centre d’Études acadiennes at the Université de Moncton.

Le Centre d'études acadiennes (Center for Acadian Studies) Université de Moncton Moncton, NB E1A 3E9 CANADA Telephone: 506-858-4085 Fax: 506-858-4086 Internet: www.codofil.org/english/links.html

Great War Project

 * New Brunswick Great War Project

"With the enlistment from the province of 1,134 men to the first contingent, enthusiasm for war remained strong throughout the province. Whether driven by a sense of adventure, the need to combat injustice, love of Empire, or a budding sense of nationality, as many as 26,000 New Brunswick-born men and women would eventually wear the uniform of one of the Maritimes’ many distinctive military units. Approximately one in ten did not return.

"As casualties mounted, New Brunswickers found ways to deal with the increasing cost of war: charities were formed to help support soldiers’ families; agricultural societies banded together to find new ways to increase production; and, as volunteerism began to wane, recruiting associations gave way to conscription as a means of winning the war. Some New Brunswickers openly doubted the province’s ability to give more; but even in the darkest days of 1917 and 1918, most residents remained resolute in their desire to secure victory and to bring their loved ones home.

"The New Brunswick Great War Project (NBGWP) is an ongoing program to preserve and illustrate a collection of sources relating to this province’s commitment to the Great War (1914-1919). Its principal aim is to provide both researcher and genealogist alike the foundation for a better understanding of the relationship between war and society. The project is not a comprehensive study of all people and all sources. It is an attempt to lend context to what is arguably a very complex subject. While great effort has been made to balance local with provincial topics, the project is heavily biased towards those sources dealing with military personnel, their families, and the wartime activities they engaged in. The project is divided into two separate but equally important parts:
 * The first provides the names and vital statistics of approximately 32,000 soldiers and nurses of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) who are linked to New Brunswick’s military effort.
 * The second part of the project provides users with 106,000 articles drawn from eight provincial newspapers, namely the Kings County Record, the St. John Standard, Fredericton’s Daily Gleaner, the Campbellton Graphic, the Daily Telegraph and the Sun(Saint John), the Daily Times(Moncton), the North Shore Leader(Newcastle), and the Tribune(Campbellton). Articles, ranging in date from 1914 to 1920, cover a number of important wartime issues. The largest category of clippings details the extent of New Brunswick’s military contribution to the Great War, from recruiting to the publication of personal letters and the twice-daily casualty list. Other categories include charitable fundraising, politics, economic expansion, the role of women and children, and the influence of religion. "