[ganongJ origins OF SETTLEMENTS IN NEW BRUNSWICK 181 



APPENDIX. 



Sources of In^formation". 



The principal sources of information for this work are in large 

 part stated in the discussion of the respective periods, supplemented 

 by the introduction to the list of settlements and the Bibliography 

 following, so that little additional comment is here needed. 



The most important source of information by far for this subject 

 is the collection of records in the Crown Land and Provincial Secretary's 

 Offices at Frederfcton. Of these records the most valuable are the 

 Council Records, Memorials of Applications for Land, a scries of volumes 

 beginning with the foundation of the Province. For the dates of 

 origins of settlements these are far more valuable than the recoTds of 

 grants of land, because the former show almost exactly when settlement 

 was commenced, while the grants, being made at intervals of the most 

 varying length after the actual settlement, give only an approximate 

 idea. The Land Memorials are, however, from this point of view, faulty 

 in two respects, — first, they do not include all settlements, omitting 

 many of the most important, such as those of the large bodies of immi- 

 grants which were assigned to their lands by the Government, and 

 second, they rarely or never tell the nationality or former homes of the 

 applicants. Nevertheless, these memorials are of the utmost value in 

 the study of the progress of settlement in New Brunswick, and the 

 subject can never be thoroughly understood until they are exhaustively 

 worked over from this point of view. I have myself been able, owing 

 to limitations of time, to work them down oaily to about 1830, and even 

 these not with the thoroughness I could wish. In order to supplement 

 the data from these records and those of the Crown Land Office, I 

 have attempted somewhat extensively to collect local information from 

 those in the particular settlements likely to be best informed on their 

 history. T have sent a great number of printed circulars as well as 

 personal letters to postmasters and others, covering all of the New 

 Brunswick settlements on which I had not definite information from 

 other sources. Of course many of these were never answered, but the 

 great majority were, and from them I have obtained a far greater 

 amount of information than the plan of this work allows me to use 

 here, but which I hope to make use of in the future. There is, however, 

 one great drawback to this information. Being largely traditional 

 it has all the indefiniteness, inaccuracy and often positive error in- 

 separable from such evidence, and it has to be used with caution and 



