I wish I had more Canadian roots! One of my very favorite websites is the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick or PANB.

Here is the home page:

It’s possible to search the entire site at once using the Federated Database Search of this page. However, because of spelling variations and multiple given names, I prefer to use the “Search” button at the top left of the page.

I’ve already posted about Records of Old Revolutionary Soldiers and their Widows, where I found the pension statement of Catherine Carlisle, widow of Loyalist Robert Carlisle. If you have New Brunswick Loyalist roots, be sure to search this database. Be sure to check the Land Petitions: Original Series 1783-1918 and New Brunswick Land Grants, 1784-1997.

Another invaluable source for found-nowhere-else New Brunswick records is the Newspaper Vital Statistics database compiled by Daniel Johnson.  It is searchable by surname and lists thousands of births, marriages and deaths for which no government record exists. I entered “Astle,” for my Loyalist James Astle. The name is rarely found in U.S. records or Canadian records before the early 1800’s. Many of those found in New Brunswick are descended from this man. Results? Five pages of hits for those named “Astle.”

I haven’t even mentioned the Vital Statistics from Government Records page.  Free images of the births, deaths and marriages in this database!

Looking for New Brunswick Irish roots? Check out the New Brunswick Irish Portal.

Lastly, be sure to revisit this website often to see what’s new. Until a couple of years ago, I was aware that there were some scattered early New Brunswick marriage records, e.g. those found in mostly local Anglican churches, but I didn’t know that, while the province didn’t require marriage records to be kept until January 1888, many counties kept their own records from a much earlier date. Look at the  “What’s New” box on the right hand side of the “Search” page. On August 12, 2014, County Council Marriages from 1826-1887 were added to this site. This batch included Gloucester, Kent and Restigouche Counties. That is 41,062 marriage records that pre-date the province requirement and those are for only three counties!

I just can’t say enough good things about the PANB website.