Fonds ID4723 - City and County of Saint John

Title proper

City and County of Saint John

General material designation

  • Textual record

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Title notes

  • Source of title proper: Title based on contents.

Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

CA MNBM ID4723

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Edition statement of responsibility

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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

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Physical description

2.7 m of textual records

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Name of creator

(Created in 1785)

Administrative history

The City of Saint John, New Brunswick, was created by a royal charter in 1785. The same charter also created a county, extending from Point Lepreau to Hopewell township. The county included the City of Saint John and was to be called the City and County of Saint John. The mayor, recorder and aldermen of the City were also to be ex officio justices of the peace for the City and County, and together with J.P.s from other areas, formed the governing body of the City and County, called the Court of General Sessions of the Peace, and an Inferior Court of Common Pleas. The Sheriff and Coroner of the City were also to be Sheriff and Coroner of the City and County. The Clerk of Common Council was also Clerk of the Peace and Clerk of Common Pleas.

City and county governments overlapped, with the same individuals, almost always residents and freemen of Saint John, dominating both the city and the county levels of government. The General Sessions met quarterly and the meetings were commonly known as the Quarter Sessions. These Quarter Sessions performed most of the local government functions in rural parishes, but in Saint John City, the Sessions' functions was more restricted. They dealt with the overseers of the poor and the administration of the poor house, the almshouse, the house of refuge and the house of correction, and the seamen's and immigrants hospitals. They were also responsible for the administration of the court house, the penitentiary and the gaol. The parish of St. Martins and parish of Lancaster were established 1786 and the parish of Simonds in 1839. In 1877 the parish of Musquash, was separated from part of the parish of Lancaster.

Sources: T. W. Acheson, Saint John the making of a colonial urban community, 1985

Custodial history

Information about the custody of these records prior to acquisition is incomplete.

Scope and content

This fonds consists of bound handwritten notebooks and microfilm copies. Not all years in the ranges of dates are present. They include the minutes of the Quarter Sessions of the City and County, 1868, 1872: minutes of the committees; 1874, 1886, 1893; minutes of County Council; 1877-1879; and the Sessions order book; 1860-1869, 1875, 1876.

There are records of tax assessments and collections for the parishes of Musquash,1877-1909; Portland including Indiantown, 1863-1869; St. Martins, 1864-1910; Simonds, 1871-1910 and Lancaster, 1856-1910. There is also a record book of the election of councillors with list of voters, 1877.

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Donated by the municipality of the County and City of Saint John, 1955

Arrangement

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

Location of originals

Microfilm available on inter library loan

Availability of other formats

Restrictions on access

No restrictions

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

Finding aids

Detailed inventory available

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