The Wanderers: The Early Settlement of Hopewell Township, Albert County, NB, 1765-1786

Early Hopewell Township was settled by some Pennsylvania Dutch in 1765 as part of a settlement scheme after the Seven Years War. This paper describes the settlement scheme, who the settlers were, their trials and tribulations, and why most of the settlers moved away (due to a lack of proprietor support). This paper was written using previously undiscovered documents form the Bank of New York Archives describing the settlement with detailed settlement maps.

Gaius Samuel Turner of Albert County: A New Brunswick Shipbuilder and Entrepreneur, 1874-1892

UNB MA Thesis 1999

The career of Gaius Turner, shipbuilder and entrepreneur of Harvey Bank, Albert County, New Brunswick, during the last quarter of the nineteenth century, offers a revealing case study of the practices and problems of the shipbuilding industry in this period of decline. As a fledgling entrepreneur Turner eschewed his father’s more cautious preoccupation with agriculture and timber in favour of the volatile industry of
constructing wooden ocean-going ships. For eighteen years beginning in 1875 he averaged one vessel of approximately 900 tons per year. Profits from shipbuilding allowed him to continue his trading in timber, hay and potatoes and to invest in ocean going and coastal vessels. During the depression of the late 1870s Turner had financial difficulties but he re-emerged stronger when the shipping market improved. The death of his father allowed him to expand into railway development and he built the Harvey Branch Railway. His involvement in railways and his political career intertwined when he turned against the Liberal-Conservative government in order to get Liberal support for his railway plans for southern Albert County. In return A.G. Blair appointed him to
his cabinet. Political controversy continued over the Albert Southern Railway and Turner eventually abandoned his support of the Liberals, attempting to build the railway
with his own resources and the federal subsidies. This proved to be a mistake; with disruptions in provincial subsidies payments, federal aid came too little and too late to
prevent his eventual bankruptcy in 1892. With Turner’s death that year, much of the industrial activity at Harvey Bank and surrounding parish ground to a halt as the community lost the principal source of its entrepreneurial ambition.

The Battle of the Petitcodiac, September 2, 1755

The Battle of the Petitcodiac was fought on Sept 2, 1755 during the British expulsion of the Acadians, after the capture of Fort Beasejour. The Massachusetts-British force was soundly defeated by Boisehebert, Acadian militia, and First Nations.

The Disposal of World War One Canadian Military Equipment, 1918-1921

This article identifies how the Canadian Military and specifically the Canadian Corps disposed of its military equipment at the end of the First World War. The Canadian government was the first country to sell off its assets, thus gaining the best price. The paper also identifies what military equipment was brought back to Canada for its future Army. In fact, the majority of the heavy equipment (guns, armoured cars) were brought back, but items like tanks, horses, and trucks were either given back or sold to civilians. The Canadian Corps sold 17,000 horses to the Belgian government to assist with the revitalization of Belgian agriculture in 1919. The paper also discuss the equipment status of the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal Canadian Air Force in the same time frame.

The Nova Scotia 1767 & 1770-87 Census & the Westmorland, New Brunswick Census of 1803 & 1820

This is a transcription of early New Brunswick census relating to the Westmorland and Albert County area of south eastern New Brunswick. It may be examined in conjunction with my other paper, "The Wanders" which is a partial analysis of the early census.

Branch Lines and Politics: The Case of Southern Albert County Railways, 1864-1911

Conference Paper

This paper was a presentation to the 1999 UNB Graduate Student Conference. It documents the politics of Railways surrounding the Salisbury-Hillsborough Railway, the Albert Southern Railway, and the Harvey Branch Railway.

The Diary of Gaius Samuel Turner 1879

Transcribed by Bradley Shoebottom

This is the Diary for 1879 for Gaius Samuel Turner of Harvey Bank, New Brunswick. Shipbuilder, Railway Promoter, Quarry Owner, Farmer, Lumberman, Exporter, and Member of the Provincial Legislature. This is the year he builds two ships, the only year in his career he did so.

The Diary of Gaius Samuel Turner 1880

Transcribed by Bradley Shoebottom

This is the Diary for 1879 for Gaius Samuel Turner of Harvey Bank, New Brunswick. Shipbuilder, Railway Promoter, Quarry Owner, Farmer, Lumberman, Exporter, and Member of the Provincial Legislature. This is the year he declares bankruptcy, in part by accumulation too much debt building 2 ships the previous year and opening a quarry, but also as part of the depression of 1879-80