Edwin Vail Wetmore, the son of Elizabeth Fowler and Henry Wetmore, was born on 20 April 1841, probably in the parish of Norton, Kings County, New Brunswick. Edwin Wetmore was living in Saint John in the 1870s, where he was working as a carpenter. By 1875 he had established himself in business as a stair builder. About 1892 the business relocated from premises at 142-148 City Road to the Dewitt Building on Celebration Street and was operating under the firm name E. V. Wetmore & Sons. By this time Edwin's sons Frank E. Wetmore and Harry S. Wetmore were working with him. In addition to staircases, the firm produced newels, balusters, and stair rails from mahogany, black walnut, cherry, and oak. Edwin V. Wetmore died at Hampton, Kings County on 25 November 1932. Frank E. Wetmore continued his father's business, possibly under the firm name Frank E. Wetmore, Limited. Later Greta Wetmore Lingley took over the business and ran it until it folded in 1978.

The United Emergency Fund for Britain was incorporated in 1948 under federal charter to act as a coordinating agency for groups in Canada organizing relief for Britain after the Second World War. Sir Ellsworth Flavelle served as its first president.

Wilson Cemetery Limited was incorporated by letters patent on 1 May 1972 under the laws of the province of New Brunswick. The company's primary purposes were to maintain and operate a cemetery on the Salisbury Road, in the parish of Moncton, Westmorland County without profit or gain. The provisional directors were Allen Wilfred Lutes, John S. Lutes, John Newcombe Lutes, and Walter J. Lutes, all of Moncton; Frank Ensley Lutes and J. Hugh McCrea of the parish of Moncton; and G. Patterson Dunlap of Lakeville, Westmorland County. The head office of the company was to be located at Wilson, in the parish of Moncton.

The Fredericton Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb was opened on 1 September 1882 for the benefit of hearing and visually impaired (blind) persons living in New Brunswick. The institution was located in the residence of Senator Botsford at Hawthorne Hill, near the foot of Forest Hill, in Fredericton. Six students were immediately admitted to the school, and that number soon grew to 18. Eventually approximately 40 students were enrolled per term. Albert F. Woodbridge, a former teacher in the school for the deaf in Halifax, Nova Scotia, was named the Institution's first principal or superintendent. The school was funded by tuition payments, government aid, and voluntary contributions.

In 1883 the Institution was destroyed by fire, but the next year a new structure was built on the old site, which, in turn, fell victim to the flames in 1897. For the next five years, the school was located in Old Government House. A commission, headed by Jeremiah H. Barry, was established in 1902 to investigate the finances and administrative practices of the school. The commission reported that Principal Woodbridge had mixed his own finances with those of the school and that the Institution's debts were nearly double its assets. In addition, students testified before the commission that they had been physically and emotionally abused by teachers and administrators. In December 1902 Principal A. F. Woodbridge resigned his post, and soon after government officials closed the school's doors.

The Ladies Auxiliary Command to the New Brunswick Command the Royal Canadian Legion can trace its roots to the 1910s and 1920s which saw the formation of the Royal Canadian Legion and of a number of women's organizations, dedicated to assisting Canadian servicemen who fought overseas during the Great War. The Returned Soldiers Aid of Fredericton was formed in December 1917 to provide for "the welfare of our returned men, inmates of hospitals, of casualty depots, and discharged men returning home." At least 10 sister societies were active throughout New Brunswick, including the Young Women's Patriotic Association of Saint John, the Women's Patriotic Association of St. Stephen, and the Milltown Soldiers' Comfort Association.

Between 1917 and 1925, many veterans' associations were formed in Canada, among them the Great War Veterans Association of Canada (1917). In New Brunswick many women who had been active in patriotic and soldiers' comfort associations formed Ladies Auxiliaries of local branches of the G.W.V.A. In 1925 many Canadian veterans' associations joined under the banner of The Canadian Legion of the British Empire Service League, which was organized that year in Winnipeg. Women's Auxiliaries, under the control of branches of the Canadian Legion, soon proliferated. Similarly, Women's Auxiliaries active in New Brunswick united to form the Women's Auxiliary, of the Canadian Legion, New Brunswick Command, British Empire Service League, in 1928. Today a number of branches of the Women's Auxiliary of the Royal Canadian Legion are still functioning.

The Smiths Creek burying ground is located near Sussex, in the parish of Studholm, Kings County on the road to Knightville. The site was established as a cemetery about 1822, but it appears that it was originally used only by the Gosline family. Most of the gravestones in the cemetery date from the early 1840s.

In 1850 Samuel Gosline of Smiths Creek donated the land for use as a public, nondenominational burying ground. The original trustees of the cemetery were John King, David Hayward, Edward Currie, Hugh J. Gosline, William Mace, William A. Stockton, Peter Parlee, and John A. Gosline. In the 21st century, the site is still sometimes referred to as the Gosline Cemetery.

This letter was sent by the Post Office Inspector's Office in Saint John, New Brunswick to the unnamed postmaster of Perth Centre, N.B. on his retirement in June 1882.

Agricultural Societies had their beginning in New Brunswick in 1790, when Governor Thomas Carleton established the Saint John Agricultural Society. It was only in 1819 that a second society was formed in this province, the Charlotte County Agricultural Society in Saint Andrews. “In the mid-1820’s, agricultural and emigrant societies were established in Saint John, Westmorland and Northumberland Counties...” (White, page 21) Expansion continued in 1839, with agricultural societies established in Gloucester and Northumberland counties. Generally, agricultural societies were formed to encourage greater agricultural expansion and to end the need to import food. It was expected that increasing the number of farmers within the Province and improving their methods would accomplish these goals.

In 1849, the provincial government invited Professor J.F.W. Johnston to visit New Brunswick and make a report. One outcome of Johnston's "Report on the Agricultural Capabilities of the Province of New Brunswick" (1849) was the establishment of a provincial agricultural society. This was the New Brunswick Society for the Encouragement of Agriculture, Home Manufactures and Commerce throughout the Province, formed in 1850 to unite the efforts of the local agricultural societies across the Province. In turn, those societies were expected to send financial support to the central society. Dr. James Robb played a "leading part in forming the Society" and became its "first president in 1850, and then for some years, its corresponding secretary." (Alfred Bailey) The most notable project of the Society was the Provincial Exhibition of 1852, which was modeled after the London Exhibition of 1851. For its design and construction, the Society called upon architect, Matthew Stead of Saint John. Unfortunately, the lifespan of the provincial Society was very brief.

A second outcome of Johnston's Report was the passing of "An Act of the Encouragement of Agriculture" (Chapter 38, Revised Statutes, 1854) which provided aid to Agricultural Societies, up to £200 annually to any District. These funds were to be used for the "encouragement or improvement of agriculture or manufactures" and a required a follow-up Report to the Provincial Secretary showing how the funds had been used.

With the failure of the NB Society in 1855, an investigation was held and its report led to the establishment of the Provincial Board of Agriculture in 1859. The local societies submitted returns, including statistics, suggestions, and recommendations as required by this new Board. In turn, the Board made rules and regulations for the governing of the local agricultural societies and exercised supervision and control over them.

In 1875, the Board of Agriculture was replaced by the Secretary of Agriculture. Finally, by Act 51 Victoria, chapter 3 (1888), the Department of Agriculture was formed. The duty of administering the Department was mandated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council to a member of the executive, the head of either the Department of the Provincial Secretary, or of Public Works, or of Crown Lands, who in addition to his other duties, presided over the Department of Agriculture as its Commissioner. The Commissioner's position was not paid. In 1913, a Minister of Agriculture was appointed.

Sources: John D. White, “Speed the Plough: Agricultural Societies in Pre-Confederation
New Brunswick (MA Thesis, UNB, 1976)
"James Robb" by Alfred G. Bailey in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, volume ix, pp. 665-667
"Matthew Stead" in Music of the Eye by Gary K. Hughes (1992)

These electoral lists were compiled by Emmet Lyons, the federal returning officer for the 1958 federal election, which saw John George Diefenbaker's Conservative government returned to power with 208 seats -- the highest number held by a single party in Canada to that time. Preliminary lists of names of eligible voters were compiled for each voting district and urban center. Voters were invited to submit corrections before the final list was published.

Queen Elizabeth II's coronation at Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953 was an occasion for celebration throughout the Commonwealth. Televised coverage of the coronation ceremony heightened public interest in such state occasions. In 1954 the coronation robes and replicas of the coronation regalia went on display in various cities throughout the Commonwealth.

In New Brunswick the Committee for the Exhibition of the Coronation Robes and Regalia was organized at a meeting held 29 September 1954 at Fredericton and chaired by Premier Hugh John Flemming. The committee's primary function was to organize the exhibition of the coronation robes and regalia in Fredericton between 20 and 25 November 1954. F. E. MacDiarmid was named president of the committee; Brigadier J. R. B. Jones, vice-president; Greta Brewer, secretary; and R. S. FitzRandolph, treasurer. Working committees were set up to oversee property and display, publicity, security, and finance. An admission fee of $.25 was to be charged to cover local expenses, with the balance to be credited to the Westminster Abbey Restoration Fund.

The exhibition was a success, with approximately 6,130 persons in attendance (2,640 adults and 3,490 children). Along with the actual Purple Robe of State worn by Queen Elizabeth at her coronation and the actual Coronation Bible she carried, visitors could view replicas of St. Edward's Crown, the Imperial State Crown, the Orb, the Sceptre, and the jewelled Sword of State, among other items.