Place:Newcastle, Northumberland, New Brunswick, Canada

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

:the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia Newcastle is an urban neighbourhood in the city of Miramichi in New Brunswick, Canada. Prior to the amalgamation of a number of municipalities into Miramichi in 1995, Newcastle was an incorporated town and the county town of Northumberland County. Situated on the north bank of the Miramichi River, the former town is sometimes referred to as Miramichi West. Being a former shire or county town, Newcastle is the location of several government offices and the county court house. It was also an important transportation centre as it was located at the head of navigation on the Miramichi River and had wharves for the export of lumber and other forest products. During the mid-1870s the Intercolonial Railway was built through the town, placing it on the mainline between Halifax and Montréal. The town's most prosperous days are considered to be the years prior to World War I. It later reached a peak population of about 6,500.

History

Newcastle was first settled by Scottish settlers, led by William Davidson (lumberman) in the late 18th century, and was originally called "Miramichi". Early settlers changed the name due to pronunciation and spelling problems.

Throughout its history, the town's economy was largely based around the forest industry. A shipbuilding industry developed in the area during the late 18th century, largely to facilitate overseas lumber exports, including masts for the British navy. The Great Miramichi Fire of 1825, the advent of steel-hulled ships, and perhaps over-cutting of a particular conifer known as "white pine", contributed to a long-term decline in the town's econonomy. Pulp and paper production eventually replaced lumber exports as the mainstay of the town's economy. Newcastle remained the industrial heart of the Miramichi valley, its large pulp and paper mill employing hundreds.

While many of the early settlers were employed in the forest industry, others participated in the salmon fishery. As transportation improved and the commercial fishery waned, a valuable sports fishery developed, attracting "sports" initially from adjacent New England, and subsequently from all parts of the world.

The 1952 discovery of base metal deposits and the development of Heath Steele Mines, 60 km northwest of Newcastle, allowed the economy to diversify and strengthen through the 1960s. The mine closed in 1999 as metal prices declined and the ore bodies were depleted.

Lord Beaverbrook

The famous British newspaper owner and Minister of Aircraft Production during World War II, Max Aitken (Lord Beaverbrook) (1879-1964), moved to Newcastle at an early age and considered it home. A noted philanthropist, Lord Beaverbrook, contributed much to his home town and province. He established the Old Manse Library in his boyood residence, built the town hall, and established a park (the historic Town Square) for the community. A bust of Beaverbrook, containing his ashes, stands in the square.

Research Tips

• New Brunswick Provincial Archives. This is the introductory page. The tabs will lead you to more precise material.
• The FamilySearch wiki. This lists the availability of vital statistics indexes for New Brunswick.
• New Brunswick GenWeb. A round-up of a lot of genealogical information at the province, county and parish level. Lists of cemeteries and monumental inscriptions can be found here.
• The Provincial Archives website titled The Placenames of New Brunswick has maps of all of its parishes and descriptions of some communities within them. This site contains "cadastral" maps for each parish illustrating the grantee’s name for land granted by the province. These maps are cumulative, showing all grants regardless of date.
• Microfilm images of all Canadian censuses 1851-1911 are online at Library and Archives Canada, as well as at FamilySearch and Ancestry. The 1921 census appears to be available only at Ancestry.
• The CanGenealogy page for New Brunswick. An overview of available online sources with links written by Dave Obee.
• More possibilities can be found by googling "New Brunswick province family history" and investigating the results.
• The word "rencensement", found in Sources, is French for "census".
• Local written history online.