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Queries and Brick Walls

Genealogical queries and selected answers are published in Generations and on our website. Or, you may post your query in our Facebook group (find the link on the home page)
 
Queries should be brief and to the point, or be well sourced brick wall queries. There is no charge for queries. Submit as many as you wish. Queries may be edited before publication.

Email us at queries@nbgs.ca to submit your query.
 
Or post them in our Facebook group.
 
To respond to a query by email, click the name of the person who submitted the query. If you respond to a query, please send a copy of your answer to the Queries Editor (queries@nbgs.ca) citing any sources you consulted. The responses will be reviewed and selected answers will be published.

Click here to learn "How to Write an Effective Query"
We all run into brick walls with our research and may want to ask for help from others. Whether you decide to send a query to NBGS for publication, post one on our Facebook page or engage the services of a professional researcher, here are some suggestions to make your initial query more effective.

A common mistake is to submit something that is too vague. For example, 
“I’m looking for information on my great grandfather, John Smith.” 

Whoever reads this query does not have any information with which to proceed. The submitter has some knowledge as to when John lived, where he may have lived, and who some of his family members might be, but the person reading the query does not. This query does not specify if John was born in 1820 or in 1920, if he lived in Miramichi or St Stephen, or anything else about him. There is no information to use to start a search. Plus, no specific question was asked. Anyone trying to help needs to have some idea of what you’d like to know.

Create a more effective version of the same query by adding a few specific details:
 “I’m looking for death and burial information for my great grandfather, John Smith, who died before the 1871 census, and lived in XYZ town, NB.”

In this example, you have a specific question “looking for death and burial Information” plus an approximate date “died before the 1871 census” and a location “XYZ town, NB”. Anyone helping you can now focus on the location, date and type of record you seek, and they know you already looked at the 1871 census. 

Adding even more detail can help, but adding too much does not.
“I’m looking for death and burial information for my great grandfather, John Smith, who shows up in the 1861 census in XYZ town, NB, with his wife Betsey and their four children, Mary, Robert, Fred and Sarah. In the 1871 census, Betsey, now a widow, and the children still live in XYZ town.”

In this third example you have added the names of the wife and children and the last date John was known to be alive. Now the focus can be in a specific time range (1861 to 1871) and a few names to help confirm the identity of John if documents are found. Betsey might be the informant on the death certificate. Do the names of the children add any value to this search? They may not be necessary, but might also be useful. However, adding details such as Betsey was born in Ireland or the names of her parents would probably not be useful to help find John’s death or burial information.

These three examples show how adding a bit of detail can assist those who wish to help. However, adding too much detail may not be helpful. You don’t need to include the full family history. 

If you are hiring a researcher, the researcher will ask for more details once they have agreed to explore your project. For the initial query, keep it simple.

Queries & Brick Walls

Click on the bar with the name to read the query.

Q26-5905-MORRISON & CHASE:

Q26-5906-MORRISON & CHASE: I am hoping to find a death record for John Morrison's wife, Elspeth McKenzie (also written as Elizabeth). She would have died with the name Elspeth/Elizabeth McKenzie Morrison. Our family records say that she died on July 16, 1876 in New Brunswick. John and Elspeth were on the Castalia ship and were some of the first families of the Scotch Colony. Upon arrival, they lived in the New Kincardinshire Colony.

The son of John and Elspeth, John Morrison, who came on the Castalia with them, married a woman named Amelia May Chase. She was the daughter of John Wellington Chase and Mehalah Louise MacDonald. According to family records, Amelia was born on November 18, 1865 in French Lake, Sunbury County, New Brunswick. I am hoping to find a birth record, baptismal record, or census records for Amelia.

The 1871 census record that lists Amelia when she was about 6 years old.

Anna
(rec’d 13 Mar 2026)

Q26-5905-HITCHINGS

Q26-5905- HITCHINGS:  I am looking for information on Jane Hitchings (who I believe is my 3rd great grandmother) born ca 1766 and died 21 Sep 1854, in St. David Parish, Charlotte, New Brunswick. Buried in Old Oak Bay Anglican Cemetery, Charlotte, New Brunswick. She married Samuel Thomas ca 1791. Looking for information on her parents, and any siblings she might have had.

Shelby

 

(rec’d 3 Mar 2026)

Q26-5904-NEVERS:

Q26-5904-NEVERS: I descend from members of the Nevers family of New Brunswick. I am reaching out because I have a copy of George Hayward's 2006 update to the Nevers Family history. I have a question about George H. W. Nevers (1800/02-1853) from page 47 of that volume and I would like to contact someone who may be familiar with this research.

The question - has the lineal descent of George H. W. Nevers since been proven to be from Samuel Nevers Jr. (1776-1870) and Elizabeth Palmer (1776-1857)? In the volume, Hayward says that he's unable to validate that relationship. Since twenty years has elapsed, maybe more information has been collected to confirm (or not) the relationship.

George H. W. Nevers' daughter was Thyrza Ann Nevers married Frederick Fox. Their granddaughter was Phyllis Vera Fox (1904-1986), my grandmother on my dad's side. And my uncle's name was Philip Nevers Brooks.

The overall purpose of this is to confirm (hopefully) my direct descent from John Alden, a Mayflower passenger.

I appreciate your help, thank you.

Bud Brooks

(rec’d 11 Feb 2026)

Q26-5903-GRADY:

Q26-5903-GRADY: My 3x great grandparents, Edward Grady (O'Grady or Gready) and Mary Leonard. I would like to know if they married in New Brunswick or Ireland? Edward b.1816 location? Ireland - d.1892 in Waterford, NB. Mary b.1816/7 in Co Cork Ireland-d-1915, Emerson, NB. It would be great to know where each of them was born in Ireland and where they were married.

Kimberly

(rec'd 4 Jan 2026)

Q26-5902-CRANDALL:

Q26-5902-CRANDALL: My grandmother had a grandmother named Helen Crandall who was from Salisbury who married Warren Price in 1853. Helen's father was John Crandall, according to Amos, Keith, and Perry in their book "The Descendants of Edmund and Jane (Webb) Price”. I am trying to connect Helen back to the Reverend Joseph Crandall through John Crandall, if there is a connection. There are two John Crandalls in the 1851 census but neither are old enough to be Helen's father. There is no Helen Crandall in the 1851 census. Can anyone help?

Kevin Kitchen

(rec’d 2 Jan 2026)

Q25-5901- ADAMS:

Q25-5901-ADAMS:

John Adams (b 1824 France), my great-great Grandfather, sailed from Saint John, New Brunswick on Ship Helen Anna arriving New York September 2, 1844. Port and ship he departed from Saint John. I’d like to find his birth place in France. Is ADAMS his birth name?

John Adams
(rec’d 6 Dec 2025)


 

Q25-5900 - CUNNINGHAM:

Q25-5900-CUNNINGHAM: I am working on a one name search in southern NB - Cunningham.  My ancestor Hugh Cunningham (1799-1865) came to Canada in 1831 from Ireland with his wife Ann and three sons Samuel (1823-1897), John (1829-1893) and my line Thomas (1831-1883).  It was told that the family landed in Saint John and scattered - brothers, cousins, and other family members.  I have done my Ancestry DNA and so have a few cousins.  Recently I met a fellow from Saint John whose family came in 1840's. This line is Thomas (1806-1889), who would be my Hugh's younger brother, and through DNA someone on his line matched mine.  I am interested in contacting anyone who has Cunningham ancestors in southern NB. Also, a possible line is through a sister Margaret Cunningham (c1807-1900). Margaret married Patrick Slattery.  If anyone in this line has done their Ancestry DNA, I would be interested in knowing. 

Nancy Adams

(rec’d 4 Dec 2025)

Q25-5899-WHITTLE:

Q25-5899-WHITTLE: I’m contacting you from England and hoping that you can help to discover addresses, occupations and border crossing information for my great grandfather during the period 1919 to 1925.

Thomas Whittle was born in Bolton, England on 27 May 1884 and arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia on the Teutonic on 18 April 1914. During the Great War he served with the 26th New Brunswick Battalion and was demobilised in Saint John on 30 April 1919 age 35.

1919 to 1925 is a gap in my research of Thomas’ timeline and I’m sharing the few pieces of the puzzle that I’ve uncovered. 

Although married with children in England, Thomas partnered with a Canadian lady, Elizabeth Fleming (b: 20 Aug 1894 Chatham, New Brunswick) and she appears to have had 5 children with Thomas before dying following the birth of twins in 1930. I’ve no record of them marrying but from 1921 Elizabeth adopted the name Whittle.

1919 Thomas Whittle demobilised, Saint John

1921 Elizabeth Whittle, Lodger 1 June, Saint John

1921 Cossmane Edwin WHITTLE birth registered 22 June, Saint John

1923 Elizabeth Whittle, crosses from Canada to USA (December), travelling to her brother, Stephen Fleming in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

1925 WHITTLE childbirth registered 6 August in Boston Massachusetts, FATHER Thomas Whittle; MOTHER Elizabeth FLEMING (this child was Charles James Whittle)

1930 Elizabeth Whittle death 2 February at the Metropolitan Hospital, New York

1947 Thomas Whittle death 31 January at the Coney Island Hospital, New York

I’ve also failed to discover when Thomas crossed to the USA and if Cossmane Whittle survived infanthood.

I’m hoping that your knowledge of Canadian records will help to find more pieces of this puzzle and please do not hesitate ask me questions.

Thanks,

Graham Field

(rec’d 14 Nov 2025)

Q25-5898-WEBBER/ WARD/ HATCH / DOW:

Q25-5898-WEBBER/ WARD/ HATCH / DOW:

Part 1: James Webber – In Generations - Fall 2015 Edition - Diaries of Tredway Thomas Odber Miles - on page 8, Odber Miles mentions "Tuesday, April 22nd, 1817, James Webber buried today".

James Webber (1776 - 1817) is my maternal GG Grandfather. The Webber family is not listed in "First Families", and I have only found one reference to him with his brother, Jeremiah, in Burton NB land grants, and supposedly from the US.

That mention certainly indicates that Odber Miles had a connection to the Webber family. He also mentions "Mrs. Webber November 7th 1817", and Mr. Dow, and Mrs. Hatch in the same segment of his diary. Two of James Webber's daughters married into the Dow and Hatch families: 

- Ruth Webber m Calvin Hatch, August 14th,1817 

- Elizabeth Webber m William Ward, July 13, 1826

- Mary Ann Webber m William Dow, July 31st, 1841

At no time in all of the excerpts in Generations does he mention Elizabeth Webber or the Ward family.

The Miles, Dow, Hatch, and my William Ward families are all listed in First Families. The James Webber family is not.

Does anyone who is researching any of these families have information that connects the Miles, Dow, Hatch and Ward families to James Webber 1776 - 1817?

Part 2: Irish Farm Workers – In Generations - Fall 2015 Edition - Diaries of Tredway Thomas Odber Miles, there is a map included in the Miles diary (attached) which shows (circled) "Irish Farm Workers lived here in small cabins" on his property. Does anyone have information on “Irish Indentured Workers", especially those located on the Odber Miles Maugerville property.

Could James Webber have been one of these Irish Farm Workers?

Regards,

Earl Ward

(rec’d 10 Nov 2025)


Q25-5897-McGOWAN:

Q25-5897-McGOWAN: 

Any information about this family or identification of the other young woman in the attached picture would be greatly appreciated. 

My grandmother, Mary Agnes McGowan b.08/13/1898, probably in New Brunswick, was raised to young adulthood by widow Mary Hanley McGowan of Cornhill after spending a year from 1901-1902 in St. Vincent's Orphanage in Saint John.  Her earlier life before the orphanage is a mystery.    

Mary McGowan's daughter Bridget Alice McGowan McGlone, also a widow, lived with her mother together with her own children, Edna, James, Mildred and Loretta.  Neither the McGowan family nor the orphanage ever disclosed information to Mary Agnes regarding her birth parents, though many years later, a sister from the orphanage wrote to her that her mother was "Maud McDonald" (sp?).  I have the letter from that sister, as well as Mary Agnes' baptismal certificate from 1901 without parents' names (but no birth record).    

Any information about this family or identification of the other young woman in the attached picture (taken in a photography studio in Sussex, New Brunswick) would be greatly appreciated.  The woman on the right is my grandmother, Mary Agnes McGowan.    

Thank you,

Sandra Raviv

North Beach, Maryland, USA

(rec'd 28 Aug 2025)

Q25-5896-WORRALL & DANIEL:
I am researching my family roots in St John NB.  Here is what I do know:

My 2 x Great Grandfather is Arthur Daniel.  He was born in 1823 in Biggleswade, England.  He came to St John when quite young to join his Uncle Thomas Daniel as well as his older brother also named Thomas Daniel.  The family were merchants and had stores known as Daniel & Boyd.  Arthur eventually began working with a Mr. Kirk and became part of a mill called Kirk & Daniel which had connections to the fire in St John.  

Arthur married Mary Jane Worrall in 1849.  Her father is one George Worrell that we believe may have been a merchant in St John.  George’s wife was Elizabeth.  Her maiden name is a mystery and we know that she was born in Nova Scotia in about 1791.  Elizabeth & George also had a son George William Worrall who was a shipping merchant in St John.  He was also a member of the Stone church.   

We are very much stuck on the Worrall family.  We have been unable to find anything beyond Mary Jane’s brother George.  Her parents are a huge mystery for us.  Any help in locating who they were would be most appreciated.  They are all buried in Fernhill cemetery but the records do not show anything.  We also believe there may be connections to the Maynard and Prescott families but have been unable to make the connection.  

Any help is most appreciated!
(rec’d 24 Jul 2025)
Q25-5895-REARDON:
I have hit a wall in researching my great-great-grandfather John Reardon and am wondering if anyone can help.

According to Ken Kanner’s Early Families Revisited, John was born in Ireland in 1822. John’s birth year is listed in the 1861 NB census as 1822, and the 1871 census indicates 1825 as his birth year.

I know the following:
  • he purchased land from Samuel White in 1852 (White’s Cove) where there is a Reardon Road
  • he married Bridget Burke in St. John in 1855 and they had 4 children
  • he married Bridget Scallan in 1865 after his first wife died
  • he died between 1875 and 1881
I’m trying to find out the following:
  • where he was born in Ireland
  • when he came to NB (I’m not sure if he landed in NB or maybe the US)
  • did he come to Canada with any family such as parents or siblings
Thank you so much for any help you can provide.

Ann Robinson
(rec’d 21 Jul 2025)
Q25-5894-HOWLAND:

My 4th great-grandmother, Mary Howland, came from the Fredericton area and married my 4th great-grandfather, John B. Topham, in Maugerville on 24 JUN 1790. I have a question regarding William Francis Ganong's "History of Caraquet and Pokemouche" because of a statement about Mary that it makes. Do you know what the source materials were for the information on the people mentioned in the work and whether these source materials are still extant and digitized images available in a database somewhere?


The reason I wish to know is that my ancestors were mentioned in the work. John B. Topham and his wife Mary were among the first English founders and settlers of Pokemouche. The book states that after the Revolutionary War, Topham went to Fredericton with the Loyalists and married "a Miss Howland" there. I am wondering if the author of the book merely assumed that Topham had married a young single woman, rather than a widow, or whether the records gave him reason to believe that she had never before been married.

I question this because I infer from other sources that she had a familial relationship of some sort to Jeremiah Howland (b. 26 JUL 1749 in North Yarmouth, Maine) of Maugerville, son of Joseph Howland (b. 24 AUG 1718 in Middleborough, Plymouth, Mass) of Burton. Based on Ganong's statement, I assumed Mary was his daughter and set up my tree accordingly. The Howland branch is now quite extensive. But last year, I discovered that another Ancestry member family tree had Mary as his widow and Topham as her second husband. Although this had not previously occurred to me, a notation in Donat Robichaud's Genealogical Notes appears to support the idea. Robichaud quoted a French-language record of adult baptisms in which Topham's daughter Mary (wife of Gilbert Duke, also co-founders of Pokemouche) converted to Catholicism. In this record, Mary Duke was stated to be the daughter of John Topham and Marie Bobey.

That sounds as though Mary Howland could have been born Mary Bubier (Bubar or Buber), making her Jeremiah Howland's widow. But since in the 18th century it was common for children of both sexes to be given their mother's maiden name as a middle name, she could have been named Mary Bubier Howland at her birth, making her Jeremiah's daughter. If she was Jeremiah's daughter, she would have to have been 13 in 1790 when she married Topham and 18 years his junior, but if Mary was Jeremiah's widow, she would have been age 36 and 5 years older than him. So far, I can find nothing that answers the question definitely, since I have no birth record for Mary Howland. There is a parish list of Maugerville marriages that included the marriage of Topham and Mary, but it lists only their names, providing no other information that would settle the matter. If the record included the ages of the parties, their marital status at the time of the marriage, or even the names of their parents it would clarify matters immensely, but none of this information was recorded on the parish list I was able to obtain.

But if more fulsome records were available to Ganong and his sister, who edited his materials, and those materials are still available, they could perhaps settle the question for me once and for all.

If Mary Topham had indeed been Jeremiah's widow, a good part of my tree is in serious error and other Ancestry members have had my tree coming up in their hints, meaning they have been seriously mislead! But without knowing definitely whether Mary Howland had been a young, single bride, or an older, widowed one, I don't want to change my tree without being certain it actually needs to be corrected. It would be a monumental task to replace deleted profiles if I later found proof that Mary had been unmarried.

If you are able to shed any light on the source materials for the Ganong work, I would be greatly appreciative!

Sincerely, 
(rec’d 6 Jul 2024)
Q25-5893-FRENCH:

I will be grateful for any assistance in tracing my 3rd great-grandfather's ancestry.  I have conducted countless searches on Ancestry, publicly available Canadian websites, and Find a Grave etc without any success.  Here is the information I have collected on Edward Charles (?) French and his family (first image).  

It appears his wife Mary, immigrated with the children to Massachusetts following Edward’s death in 1864 (second image).

I have high confidence John Henry French’s lineage to my family.  

Any information on Edward's parents, grandparents etc is greatly appreciated. 

Thank you,
Bill French
(rec'd 16 May 2025)

Q25-5892-MARTIN:
I have come to a brick wall with an Elizabeth Martin, who in the 1871 census for New Brunswick is recorded as aged 35, born in New Brunswick, religion Church of Scotland and origin English. She is living in Saint John, New Brunswick at the same residence as Alexander Martin, widowed, aged 68, religion Church of Scotland and origin Scotch.

Alexander Martin died in August 1874 in the Saint John area and left a will and codicil which was contested. The will and court proceedings does not mention Elizabeth, but does mention many of Alexander's nephews and nieces in Scotland and those who came to New Brunswick. Alexander ran a confectioner business from Prince William Street and was a resident of Saint John for about 40 years. He was born in the village of Dunning, Perthshire, Scotland and paid for a fountain to be built there.

What could have happened to Elizabeth between 1871 and 1874?

Kind regards,
(rec’d 14 May 2025)
Q25-5890-BLAKE:

I am looking for information about events related to the birth and including first ~20 years of my great-grandfather, William H. Blake, who was in Hampton, Kings, NB at some point in time between 1867 and 1890.  

I have been using FamilySearch.org for research.  Here is a picture to describe the relationships.

My best guess for William's birth is (May?) 1867.  But that date is not recorded consistently across sources.
 
Elizabeth Jennie and William H. gave birth to a daughter, Carrie Mabel Blake about 1886.  They married on July 2, 1887 in Hampton, New Brunswick.  They immigrated to Manchester, New Hampshire, USA sometime after this.
 
The 1871 and 1881 NB census each list a William Blake in Alnwich, NB, but this Alnwich William's age probably is a couple years too young and there is no middle initial H, which is one consistent feature with much of the documentation on my great-grandfather.  But, I have not completed ruled out a match to this person.
 
So, here is my brick wall.  The earliest solid, documented date for William H. I have is his marriage to Elizabeth Jennie Wallace on July 2, 1887, Hampton, NB.

The marriage is documented here:
  • Source Date 2 July 1887
  • Web Page (Link to the Record) https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVBF-JB4D
  • Where The Record Is Found (Citation) "Canada, New Brunswick, Provincial Marriages, 1789-1950", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVBF-JB4D : Sun Jan 19 19:13:37 UTC 2025), Entry for William H Blake and Elizabeth J Wallace, 02 Jul 1887.

The next event of interest is an immigration record in New Hampshire in 1892.  This list him coming from New Brunswick and has him renouncing allegiance to Queen Victoria.
  • Source Date 19 October 1892
  • Web Page (Link to the Record) https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:CV3F-WF6Z
  • Where The Record Is Found (Citation) "New Hampshire, County Naturalization Records, 1771-2001", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:CV3F-WF6Z : Sun Jan 19 08:34:58 UTC 2025), Entry for William H Blake, 19 Oct 1892.

The next source of interest is the birth certificate for the youngest son, Alpheus Verne Blake. This certificate lists the father, William H Blake, as born in St. Martins, NB.
  • Source Date 15 January 1902
  • Web Page (Link to the Record) https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2SD-CQBC
  • Where The Record Is Found (Citation) "New Hampshire, Birth Certificates, 1901-1915", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2SD-CQBS : Tue Jan 14 22:31:54 UTC 2025), Entry for Alpheus Verne Blake and William H Blake, 15 Jan 1902.

The next source of note is the April, 1910 US census record, which lists William H. as born in Maine (and lists correct vitals for the other members of the Blake family)
  • Source Date 1910
  • Web Page (Link to the Record) https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MLZN-PHM
  • Where The Record Is Found (Citation) "United States, Census, 1910", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MLZN-PHM : Fri Mar 08 23:43:30 UTC 2024), Entry for William H Blake and Elizabeth J Blake, 1910.

There are several other sources for his subsequent life in Manchester, NH, which I will not list here, unless they might help uncover his early life.

So, a couple specific questions:
  1. Where was William H. Blake born: UK, NB, NS, Maine, elsewhere?  Is there a birth record somewhere in Canada?  Or an immigration record?
  2. If the 1910 US census is correct that he was born in Maine, do the 1892 immigration record and the 1902 birth certificate make any sense?  Or is the "born in Maine” census entry likely incorrect?
  3. What does the middle initial “H” stand for?  My grandfather’s given name is named Harold, so maybe that.  But I came across many William Henry.

Best regards,
(rec’d 2 May 2025)