Fonds consists of baptism/marriage/burial records, membership records, minutes, financial records, reports, correspondence, orders of service, and attendance rolls from the churches within Bathurst Pastoral Charge, including its Methodist and Presbyterian predecessors. Fonds is composed of following sous-fonds: Bathurst Pastoral Charge records Bathurst and New Bandon Methodist Circuit records Trinity United Church records St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church records St. Luke’s United Church records First United Church records
The fonds includes mostly original photographs of various sizes and formats, including professional and amateur images. There are black and white copies and negatives for many pictures acquired before the mid 1990s; these were produced by the Heritage Branch, when funding for the duplication of photographs was readily available. These copies were used for displays in the Museum. More recently photographs have been digitally scanned and stored electronically – this is particularly the case for photographs which have been loaned to the museum for brief periods of time for exhibits or research.
As an organizational history, the records are nearly complete and include the constitution, correspondence, reports, financial records, membership, and documentation of activities and events from 1986 to the present. Three publications – From Our Grandmothers Kitchens (cookbook - 1989), Weaving the Past Into the Present (history – 1989 and 2008) and The History of the Saint John Jewish Community (video – 1990 and 2008) have been produced by the museum. Museum's activities have also been well documented through scrapbooks and photograph albums from 1986 through the present time.
The fonds includes published and unpublished articles, newspaper clippings, information from census returns and city directories, programmes, newspaper clippings, newsletters, scrapbooks, letters, advertisements, memorabilia.
The extent of archival material on each of the organizations varies from only a few sheets to many folders or boxes. Many records suffered the same fate as many of the Synagogue records, being burned in a fire in 1933.
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society - primarily newspaper clippings.
Daughters of Israel - minute books, financial ledgers, some reports and clippings.
Ladies Auxiliary – minute books
Sisterhood Shaarei Zedek - minute books, correspondence, and annual reports
Young Mens / Womens Hebrew Association - newsletters, dance cards, and newspaper clippings
Boy Scouts, Cubs, Girl Guides and Brownies – records are limited to a few notebooks, booklets and newspaper clippings
Jewish Community Players - complete scrapbook of the organization's activities, scripts
Hebrew Choral Society - sheet music in English, Hebrew, and Yiddish.
Shomer Club (The Guardians) - financial records, minutes, and correspondence
Henrietta Szold Chapter of Hadassah-WIZO - minutes, reports, financial records, correspondence, membership, conference material, activity reports, and scrapbooks
Jewish War Veterans of Canada – most holdings from the national organization. Local activities make up a very small proportion of the material available.
Much of the material relating to the history of the history of the congregations before 1933 was destroyed in a fire. Most of the surviving records date from 1949 and were found in 1990 in the balcony of the synagogue. Extensive records of correspondence, annual reports, minutes, financial records, and membership lists were among what was found. There is also a large section of information available on bat/bat mitzvah, marriage and burial records for the genealogist. The cemetery records are the most complete as a database of all burials in the Shaarei Zedek Cemetery was compiled between 1997 and 2011. Material on these lifecycle events generally comes from personal memorabilia and newspaper records. A section on Jewish traditions and holidays is appended to show how these have been observed in this community and elsewhere.
Records for the communities in Moncton and Fredericton are very limited and include information found in public records including newspapers.
An invitation to attend a free exhibition of the International Correspondence Schools held at P.G Hanson's store, St. Andrews. Date: July 23rd-27th, 1904. The invitation states that the exhibition will feature works from 2,000 students across New Brunswick and lessons featured in French, Spanish and German via phonograph. The invitation states that attendees have the opportunity to win a free trip to St. Louis or $30.00 in cash. The inside of the invitation features a series of questions concerning the readers occupation and salary and an insert featuring all of the programs offered by the International Correspondence School, located in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Fonds relates to the activities of Herbert Mariner Wood while attending Cornell University, though his primary residence was in Sackville, New Brunswick. Fonds consists of a photograph of the 1904-1905 Cornell University Hockey team with Herbert Mariner Wood pictured in the middle bottom row of the photo. Others in the photo include: unknown, unknown (Coach?), and A.R. Ellis (top row left to right), and J.M. Lee, E.S. Armstrong, Herbert Mariner Wood (Capt.), C.H. Day, and unknown (bottom row left to right). The only player with a direct connection to Sackville appears to be Herbert Mariner Wood. (PB3.8)
Fonds relates to the relationship of C.W. Fawcett and his wife, Mary Medina Chapman. Fonds consists of a letter (written at the Royal Alexandra Hotel in Winnipeg, Manitoba and sent to Sackville, New Brunswick) from C.W. to his wife Mary. (Letter 10/9)