This photo comes from my grandmother, Bertha Northrup Holmes. Her parents were Charles and Elizabeth Kimball Holmes, and Charles' parents were William Nelson Holmes and Anna Heath.
I have a picture of and have been myself to Charles' tombstone in Lincoln, Maine, although he died in Berkley, Massachusetts in Aug or Sept of 1940.
Where is this picture taken? The lake? And how did our folks end up emigrating (or from my standpoint, immigrating) to Lincoln?
Oh, Ami, can you email this to me? This was taken at the lake, at the last family reunion I believe, c 1927. My great-grandfather Charles Robert is on the left, Peter Ketchum Holmes, Caroline Maria Holmes Steeves, William Nelson Holmes and James Hoyt Holmes. I have a poor copy of a similar photo in which their wives are also in the picture.
ReplyDeleteJames, and then Peter, were to die within the year, and William, about three years later.
Lincoln was on the rail line from Petitcodiac, through McAdam and Vanceboro, Maine. I do believe William went first and the others followed. Liz?
Ami, this reply is from Liz.
ReplyDeleteI wondered too about the numbers of people who emmigrated from New Brunswick, Canada to Maine - and to others areas in the USA, as well. While researching my 2x Great Grandmother, Carrie Holmes Steeves, I was amazed to see how many with the name Steeves who were born in New Brunswick, Canada, were listed as living in the Boston area in about 1890.The link to Wikipedia's description of the Petitcodiac River. . . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petitcodiac_River#Resettlement_and_modern_history_.281763.E2.80.93present.29
. . . explains what happened to cause an economic depression in the Moncton area in 1860. Apparently the railway line to Moncton was extended to Saint John, which caused Moncton to be “just another stop along a railway line.” And the article says “this coincided with the failure of Moncton's shipbuilding industry, and a population drop from a peak of 2,000 to about 500. The town declared bankruptcy and was unincorporated in 1862,” though it got back its status in 1875.
This may have been a key factor in precipitating an exodus away from the New Brunswick area, along with the fact that the 'industrial age' was picking up steam about that time. I suppose the highly populated areas like Boston would have offered more diverse job opportunities…and even a small town in Maine like Lincoln would have been attractive as well, because of its closeness to New Brunswick and its access to good farming and logging opportunities.
Your picture on the lake of the Holmes siblings (with your ancestor William and my ancestor Carrie) looks very much like other photos our side of the family has of Holmes reunions on the lakes and of pictures taken at 'Holmes cottages' on the lake. It also might have been taken at the Ballantyne cottage on Mattanawcook Lake called 'Springside' which was very popular with family members well into the 1930s. It's nice to think that many of the Holmes siblings in that large family did try to maintain their family ties, with frequent visits and reunions even in their later years. Liz
This is an excerpt from an article in our local newspaper.
ReplyDeletePatricia Winans, "Glimpse of the Past," is the weekly column. The article is "Philippe N LeBlanc was a Master of his Craft."
Like many other young Acadian men and women, Philippe N. LeBlanc left New Brunswick in the early 1890s to work in Massachusetts. Work was plentiful at the time in all of the New England states due to the numerous factories and mills located there. to keep pace with the need for housing for the workers and others drawn to the various communities, anyone in the building trades was also welcomed. Crossing the border from Canada to work in the United States was a simple matter then, with very little or no requirements for admittance."
Our family was not Acadian, but lots of people, not just Acadians, went to New England. And probably the menfolk in our family were quite familiar with wood, mills and carpentry, given there father built and operated at least two mills. I read somewhere that Alfred Steeves worked in a mill in New Brunswick, although I believe he was a shopkeeper in Massachusetts.