New Brunswick, Canada Genealogy

Getting Started


New Brunswick History
New Brunswick is a province in eastern Canada. Its capital is Fredericton. The territory was originally part of Acadia, which France lost to Great Britain after the Seven Years War (French and Indian War). Before 1784, New Brunswick was part of Nova Scotia. When New Brunswick was established in 1784 it was divided into eight counties. As the population grew the original counties were divided and new counties set up. The counties are subdivided into civil parishes.

In 1783, refugees loyal to the Britain began to colonize the area. They were relocating after the American Revolution and came from as far south as Georgia and as far north as Massachusetts. These refugees were not all of British origin, but included German, Dutch and Black Loyalists. The Black Loyalists included a number of freed slaves, but there were a small number of loyalists who brought their slaves with them to New Brunswick. By 1785, so many refugees had landed and settled at the mouth of the St. John River that the King granted a charter to the new City of Saint John, the first incorporated city in Canada.

Scottish and Irish settlers began to settle in New Brunswick in the early 1800s a result of the potato famine. Later immigration included a few hundred Danish settlers in the 1870s. A significant number of Jewish immigrants came through the Port of Saint John from the 1890s to the beginning of the First World War. A number of these immigrants remained to form Jewish communities in Saint John, Moncton and Fredericton.

FamilySearch Resources
Below are FamilySearch resources that can assist you in researching your family.
 * Facebook Communities - Facebook groups discussing genealogy research
 * Learning Center - Online genealogy courses
 * Historical Records - databases and record images on FamilySearch
 * Family History Center locator map