Minutes : 1789-1807.

            Northumberland County is one of the eight original counties that were established when New Brunswick was set off as a separate jurisdiction from Nova Scotia in 1784. The original county encompassed a huge area that now includes the Counties of Northumberland, Kent, Gloucester and Restigouche.  The region was divided into districts for the purposes of county administration during the period during which the Minutes were created.
            

            The first session of the Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace was held on Tuesday, 15 May 1789, at Beaubears Point in the Township of Newcastle. The Book of Records is the minute book which records the proceedings of the Court.  It includes the names of the justices and Grand Jurors present, the date and place of meeting, and a detailed account of the business, both criminal and civil, that came before the Court.  Subjects covered in the Minutes included crime, local administration, fisheries, transportation, agriculture, industry, land ownership, public welfare, and Native (indigenous) issues.

The Minutes contain:  proclamations; petitions; court cases; complaints; assessments; lists of liquor licenses for tavern keepers and retailers; regulations; discussion of court and gaol (jail) buildings; lists of county positions such as Treasurer, Inspectors of Fish, and Port Wardens and Pilots for the Harbour of Miramichi; and several lists of Parish Officers for each district.  Approximately thirty marriages, which were performed by justices of the peace, are recorded in the Minutes. The most common crimes dealt with the Court were assault, property damage, bastardy, breach of the peace, and issues surrounding indentures and apprenticeships. 		
            

            Formatted transcription of Minutes from 1789 to 1807 available as a PDF file in the electronic finding aids section.

An alphabetically arranged subject index is located at the end of the volume.
            

New Brunswick. Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace (Northumberland County). Marriage Registers : 1806-1837.

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