Mona 's Dare ...............Rocks of Ages !!

I could spend hours in the presence of the rocks below and above contemplating the power and genius of the Master Sculptor ..... as well as  His fine needlepoint .....and the passing of time. Saint Martin's flowerpot , Fundy Trail Pot and my favourite , Split Rock........ all three within 45 minutes east of here by car along the Fundy Coast. The bottom pic puts Split Rock into perspective as seen from the far end of magnificent Duck Pond Beach   I might add that Split Rock becomes an island at high tide. I might also mention that these Fundy flowerpots are made of sandstone whereas those highlighted in a former blog from the Mingan Archipelago in the Lower Saint Lawrence River estuary are sculpted from limestone. 

 

                                                                                                                                            P.S. Sorry about the uneven staggering of my pics. Blame it on my lack of symetry  I guess. The very top pic I threw in for good measure ..... a big rock known to the Greeks of yore as one of the Pillars of Hercules ! Anybody ?

Readings , Musings and Reflexions !!

This last year I have spent many fun - filled hours delving into family history ..... dusty old documents in crypts , microfilms of old burial and birth certificates ... old newspaper clippings , etc This evening I came across one wee entry in the Daily Telegraph for February 2nd , 1884 and I wish to share it with you here.

Last eve. Mr. and Mrs. John FREDERICKSON celebrated the 50th anniversary of their marriage at their residence, Exmouth St., Saint John. Mr. Frederickson, who is the grandson of a Loyalist, was born in St. John, but at an early age moved to Halifax, N.S. where he lived till the age of 21 when he moved to Boston, Mass. There he met his wife, a native of Nova Scotia, and they were married. Subsequently the young couple returned to St. John where Mr. F. successfully pursued his business of shipbuilding. It was he who designed the "Marco Polo", the fastest of New Brunswick sailing ships. Fifteen years ago he was appointed to a position within the Inland Revenue Dept. in this city, a post which he still fills. Although both he and his wife have lived the allotted three score and ten years, they remain in full possession of their physical and mental faculties. They have living seven children, 19 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Note how the author of these short lines seems to marvel at the fact that ALTHOUGH they have attained the ripe old age of "three score and ten " years.... 70 years old !!! they still are mentally and physically alert !! Having all ones marbles at 70 was a rare occurence  in those days ? Shorter life expectancy back then I guess ? Hell ! I feel better than ever before and I am looking at 70 in the rearview mirror ! Better not get too cocky though... BY the way the Marco Polo was the first clipper ship to sail around the world in under six months and at the present moment shipwrights with volunteers are building a lifesize replica of the Marco Polo and hope to christen her sometime soon.... more than likely in the Spring I hope.    

Friends

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Growing up here in the North End of Saint John was a lot of fun and as we dove , jumped off the wharf and waterfront sheds in Indiantown  ... splashing as we frolicked ....we always seemed to draw a crowd of spectators   ..... not our parents who were too tied up with eking out out meagre existance back then to be doting soccer Moms and Pops so to speak...... but rather onlookers of the aquatic species...... seals and cormorants whom we referred to in a most familiar way as seadogs and hell - divers .....the former so called because of their snouts and barks , the latter because they could dive to extraordinary depths chasing fish. Even though my high diving days are over I still love to go there and watch the great - grandchildren of my friends of yore.  

P.S. Doing some research yesterday evening into the the lifespan of the average seal  I discovered to my great dismay that the life expectancy of males is somewhere between 20 to 25 years while the female seals live much longer .... anywhere from 30 to 35 years. Experts seem to be in full agreement that the male 's shortened longevity is mainly due to extreme exhaustion brought on by overstrenuous sexual activity.. I always thought that Hugh Hefner was all talk anyways ! 

Mona's Dare......... Fall Pics

 

First meeting after four years of chit - chat .... September 25th , 2003 .. in Härnösand - By - The - Sea , Sweden

 

Fall , 2004 in Lac - Beauport

Cuzins By the Duzins !!

 

The other day we went over to Bayshore at the mouth of the harbour. I sat on the bulwark above the beach while Fluff ....... always looking for some action ...... prowled the sands below lining up as many unfortunate gulls and cormorants as possible in the crosshairs of her super - duper camera lens ........ and looking very professional too , I might say ! All of a sudden a fellow my age siddled up to me , hunkered himself down and , pointing to the island a bit offshore , asked me the following question , " Do you know what that is out there ?" ( With Fluff shooting everything in sight down below and me disguised in tourist garb the guy had taken us for out - of - towners ). "Why yes , " I retorted , " some of my distant kinfolk and forebearers have been fertilizing the plant life out there for nigh onto 160 years." He laughed , saying .... " so you're from around here , are you ?" .... to which I answered , " Yeah , I'm a Northender ." 

It turned out that he was a Westsider of Irish origin like myself who had just come back from a three - week tour of the Old Sod and we were on his turf... in fact , he just lived up the hill a wee bit from the beach behind us. We chatted on for some time about Partridge Island there before us ( our own little Ellis Island ) , growing up poor in the 1930s - 1940s , Catholic parish life and how it had changed , etc........ but it was when we exchanged family names that all my geneological bells started tolling loudly. He said his name was Greg Hayes. Now my grandmother on my mother's side was Annie Hayes from the West Side !! .... and back in 1925 when she died her brother , Michael , who lived at Market Place on the West Side  was mentioned in her obituary as well as her sister , Catherine. My Mom often referred to Uncle Mike and we had Aunt Catherine ( Kit ) living on and off at our house in my childhood. I can even remember attending Aunt Kit's burial at Holy Cross Cemetery in 1944 when I was 8 years old.And to boot I still have her old standing rocker she brought from Ireland here with us ..... one of the few pieces of antique family heirloom furniture I have not let go of yet.

For the sake of brevity .... thereby sparing my readers the arduous yet palpitating details of our conversaton and the complexities of kinship terminology ..... it turned out that Michael Hayes was Greg's grandfather ....... so his grandpa and my granny Hayes were brother and sister ! ......... and Greg and I are second cousins !!  

We shall get together soon for coffee and an exchange of old snapshots. I feel blessed and enriched .......

A Hunting We Shall Go !

It's hunting season again here in New Brunswick and yesterday an article appeared in the local newspaper urging the folks in this area to report any acts of illegal or unlawful hunting practices..... even waving a $ 2000 carrot at the end of the line by way of reward. As I said to Fluff , "Snitch and get rich ! " Anyways the bears are on the run as archery hunting began last week..... and moose season gets underway this coming Thursday. It must be real hard on the nerves to fully enjoy mating season when you're being shot at all the time  !! The poor buggers !! Deer hunting with bow and arrow kicks in on October 5th and with firearms on October 26th.  

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Natural Resources was interviewed and enumerated the usual litany of the " don 'ts" of hunting ... no baiting with apples , no salt licks , no night hunting with spotlights , etc .... ending her question and answer period with the following words of wisdom , " We want to ensure the sport of hunting and fishing for future generations. For our children and grandchildren we have to protect our natural resources. A lot of people think these offences ( illegal and unlawful hunting acts ) just happened years ago but it still happens. THE ANIMALS DEPEND ON US TO SPEAK FOR THEM BECAUSE THEY CAN'T SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES " "

What a heap of skunkdung !!.... and poor grammar to boot !! 

Were the animals able to speak I believe they would say something along these lines........ " Those are not at all our wishes ,Madam.  Screw your hunting laws and regulations for tracking us down and killing us ... how about NO SHOOTING US AT ALL !!

Photos by Fluff.... friends we met while out for a drive upriver.

N.B. I am by no means an "anti - hunting " nut , my friends. Reasonable hunting for personal consumption is OK in my books. However , when politicians start speaking on behalf of animals and uttering stupidities I get critical !!  

Strange Bylaws !!

You would be astounded and often bent over in laughter were you to browse an inventory of the odd /  bizarre / weird bylaws that are still on the books in many states , provinces , cities and towns throughout North America. For example it is still  illegal to sing off key in public in North Carolina...... to shoot rabbits from a boat in Kansas , to possess lifelike dildos in Texas , to urinate within 20 paces of a public way in Trois - Rivières , Québec , to sell booze while dressed in a Santa Claus suit in Ohio !! etc

The following qotation is from page 22 of Will Durant's "Caesar and Christ ".

"The law of the early Republic allowed a creditor to imprison a persistently defaulting debtor in a private dungeon , to sell him into slavery , even to kill him. Joint creditors might , said the law , cut up the corpse of the defaulting debtor and divide it among them----- a provision apparently never enforced. "

Applied to modern times I can just imagine the guy from the collection agency or the Repo Guy at some poor devil's front door armed with a sawed - off shotgun and chain saw

P.S. I put in a pic of my son Kevin before the Roman Coliseum to give my blog about Roman Law a tidbit of credibility ! He was with me there in 1986.

Tidal Waters !

Please enlarge picture.

Hereabouts we have the highest tides and one of the swiftest harbour currents in the world. Ships bringing goods and tourists come in on the flood tide and leave on the ebb tide. Movement of the tides is central to many primary activities here in Saint John. How many times this year have Fluff and I stood back and watched busload after busload of Americans from the cruise ships pull up to our World Famous Reversing Falls at the mouth of the Saint John River where it flows into the harbour and ask , "Where are the falls ?" The poor devils hit there during slack tide , the twenty-minute interval when there is no tidal movement nor difference in water levels at all !!  

Yesterday ( 9/11/2009 ) Fluff and I took a drive upriver a ways .... looking for an unsuspecting flock of ducks , etc to shoot..... with a camera that is !! So lo and behold we came upon this sorry lot in above pic about ten miles upstream in Brothers  Cove. Mother Nature had pulled their watery carpet literally out from underneath their webby feet leaving them high and dry for six hours or so. Just a few hours earlier these same quackers had been floating about in 8 feet of prime water.  Effects of ocean tides in this area are felt as far as 100 miles inland ..... upstream ... from the sea.

And thus it has been  with the treacherous , dastardly deed of 9 / 11 / 2001 and its tsunami-effect  aftermath reaching the most remote nooks and crannies of the world. We lost our innocence on that fateful and tragic day and shall never again trust the "other guy " in quite the same way as we had before.

Went Fishin' This Afternoon !

                                                           

Since Fluff was going to the zoo with Isabel I decided to take the ferry across the Kennebecasis River to Summerville and Bayswater to tease the trout , pickerel , perch , gaspereau , bass or anybody else scaly with gills who liked night crawlers. So there I was on the edge of Milkish Creek...... 40 or more Canada geese on one side whooping , barking and splashing around with myself on the other side moaning , cussing and damning the fish that weren't biting... too bloody hot I guess !! Anyways a good time was had by all on an absolutely glorious afternoon in a very peaceful picture - postcard setting.

Southern New Brunswick is a land of ferry boats and covered bridges...... they are everywhere ! Today I would add two more items to that list that local folks never think about until they move away from here .... and boomerang back again like myself after living elsewheres .......... wild appletrees and cedar trees !! Driving along any lonely country road around here one is struck ..... especially at this time of the year.......by the great abundance of appletrees laden with Mother Nature's red 'n sour answer to drugstore Exlax. My Mom always warned me that should I eat too many I would spend the night in the outhouse with terrible cramps in my belly...... but we ate them anyways !! The other day I drew Fluff's attention to this phenomen as we drove along just one back road ...so today I started counting and stopped counting the trees after I had reached 30 for one rather short stretch of the same road....... mind boggling !!

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I was in Quebec I had but ONE cedar ( thuya ) on my property and could not find another one anywheres else ... and God only knows I looked ! Today I was walking through cedar groves all afternoon. .... many of which were close to two feet in diameter.........and in my youth out in th back forties ....not far from here ........we had nothing else surrounding our house but spruce and mainly cedar with the odd yellow birch and rowanberry tree. Ah  , the rowanberry tree !! Now there is another species that you find everywhere around here .. and especially noticeable nowadays since the berries are red and bittersweet.... full of alcohol to inebriate unsuspecting birds !! Alleluja and amen !! 

N.B. Please enlarge apple tree !... and two photos at bottom.

Making a Mountain Out of a Molehill !!

 

I sat watching these guys practice mountain climbing techniques for a while and then baptized Fluff 's photo.   

Haliaeetus Leucocephalus

      Since the bald eagle is the national bird of the USA and given its powerful symbolic role  in American nationalism / patriotism..... I often wonder just how many Americans have had the privilege of observing this majestic bird soar ´freely and unfettered above their heads as it goes about its daily struggle wth survival. Fluff and I feel blessed indeed  here as we spot one or two  on a rather regular basis. Just a simple query ,  folks?   Photo shot by Fluff Studios Inc                                                         

Woman Loses False Teeth Overboard at High Tide , Finds Them Again at Low Tide !!

$300 Worth of Knowledge For 12 Bucks !!

 

A few weeks back I was having one of those private moments with myself ...... thinking , of course.... and I made up my mind that between then and the hearse I would read some major work on the history of civilization...... mainly to freshen up what I supposedly already knew but lie dormant in my memory and secondly give me an overall view of what had taken place on the world scene over the last " few " thousand years as seen by one author..... and , in return , on my part have material to chew on and criticize or agree with.   

Well , a couple of days ago Fluff and I browsed our way through the mountains of books at the Big Brothers / Big Sisters Annual Book Fair where I hit the proverbial jackpot. I bought 4 of Will Durant's "The Story of Civilization " , thick tomes ( 800 to1000 pages each volume ) well-annotated with footnotes and cross references galore....... a monumental and scholarly work of great proportions. At a book fair last year in Quebec I had already bought his book "The Reformation " so I was now the proud owner of 5 out of this 10 - volume series.And just yesterday a street vendor sold me my sixth prize copy "The Age of Louis XIV " for two bucks. Still four to go but I'm optimistic........ and in the meantime I have lots to read ...... having already started with the volume " Caesar and Christ "..   

Eternity just one heartbeat away , infinity much farther !!

 

Caught your undivided attention with the title now , didn't I ? And no , Cindy Anne , I'm not heading for the nearest bridge to jump off....... in spite of some of the appealing ones in Mona's recent DARE. Au contraire , mes ami(e)s , I am feeling just fine.... just a couple of slipped disks and a double hernia shy of being in perfect physical shape. Maybe the title has something to do with the contents of a few of the books hanging out of late on my desktop along with the usual oddball grammars and dictionaries....... Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time "and "The Universe in a Nutshell ".......Brian Clegg's "A Brief History of Infinity " and The Last Billion Years : A Geological History of the Maritime Provinces of Canada "........ and then again it might be because I had breakfast this morning with  nine old buddies from my seminary days most of whom I hadn't seen in the last forty to fifty years !!!

It was a wonderful reunion and as we pulled away from the table at the end I could hear the loud creaking of bones. However , we made it through the whole meal without calling in the paramedics so we all came away happy ..... promising to get together once more on August 22nd , 2059.......... and I guess I should have a clearer and more precise appreciation of what eternity is all about by then. 

A Midsummer Chirp !!

 

In this computerized world we live in nowadays I neither twitter nor tweet. However , I DO chirp  !! In fact , when but a mere lad my Nanna would always say that my bummy little friends were cheeky ( bold /.impolite ) while I was simply chirpy. So there you go.

Well , we ' ve been here over seven months now and , contrary to popular opinion back in Quebec , I do not regret moving back to a home town I left almost 60 years ago in search of fame and glory ( huge LOL ). I only regret not doing it about ten years ago when I retired from the university. Saint John is a truly remarkable place to live and loving the sea as I do I can recharge my batteries at will 24/ 7 at close range. What a tremendous boon !!....and free too !! No covercharge !!

Healthwise all is as well as I could hope for , I guess ....except for the fact that I exposed my right shinbone to the world by way of a gaping hole left by a run - in with a trailer hitch in the dark. Nurse Fluff has changed dressings faithfully over the last two months so this gash will soon be history. In the meantime , however , I have sprung myself a double hernia .... so along with the other two already in place it's getting rather crowded  "down there ". Amen !

The girls / ladies who work as cashiers at supermarkets or as waitresses in restos always address their customers as honey , dear , sweetie , etc . Because of my age I usually get "dearie " ! I told Fluff I don't mind it and even find it cute...... however , should they start patting my gently on the head while saying it ... then I'll really blow my top !

I sincerely hope that you are all in good health and enjoying this wonderful Summer weather we are all experiencing. I hear that Mona has even launched herself into a new career .... following in the footsteps of Susan Boyle. Go for it , Mona .... reach for the stars ! Grab me one too while you're at it ! Hugs to all and y'all !! 

Ah , The Humility Of It All !!

 

It seems three Irishmen, Sean, Michael and Tim, passed over at the same time. Upon encountering the Pearly Gates, they were met by ST. Patrick himself, and he addressed the boys thusly: "Lads, I'm here to welcome you to heaven where you will spend eternity. Just remember one thing, when you go through these gates, don't step on any of the ducks or you'll be punished for eternity. Sean went in first and was amazed to see that the entire landscape was encompassed by ducks, and try as he might, sure enough he stepped on one. He was immediately joined by one of the homliest colleens he'd ever laid eyes on, and she said,"Well love, you stepped on a duck and now we're together for all time."And of course the exact same thing happened to Michael only his companion was even the worse for wear. By this time Tim was absolutely terrified. And he gingerly managed to make it most of the way across the courtyard  without stepping on a single duck. Suddenly, his arm was taken by a young lass. Tim looked over and beheld the most beautiful, graceful, blue-eyed woman he'd ever seen in all his life. He gasped, "I don't understand it!" The young beauty answered, "Well I'm sure I don't either, I was walking along minding my own business, when all of a sudden I stepped on a duck."

 

HAPPY EASTER TO ONE AND ALL !!   AND WATCH OUT FOR DUCKS !!!

Snicker , snicker.... cough , cough !!

A man is eating in a fancy restaurant and there is a gorgeous blond eating at the next table. He has been checking her out all night, but lacks the nerve to go talk to her. Suddenly she sneezes and her glass eye comes flying out of her socket towards the man. He reflexively grabs and snatches it out of the air.
    "Oh my god, I am sooo sorry," the woman says as she pops her eye back into place. "Let me buy you dinner to make it up to you."
    They enjoy a wonderful dinner together and afterwards the woman invites him to the theater followed by drinks. After paying for everything, she asks him if he would like to come to breakfast the next morning. When he arrives the next morning, she has cooked a gourmet meal with all the trimmings. The guy is amazed!!
    "You know, you are the perfect woman.  Are you this nice to every guy you meet?"
    "No, she replies...

Wait for it...
It's coming..........
The suspense is killing you ....

"You just happened to catch my eye."

The Boatswain's ( Bo 'sun's ) Lament !!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just when you think you've sized up the whole situation and make ready to set course out to sea through the channel between Big Soldier and Little Soldier Islands...... along comes low tide to upset the applecart and throw a monkey wrench in your plans.

Many of us see life pessimistically as  a sequence of low tides .....   bummers or downers ......  while others such as Biff and Buck , our local tugboats , optimistically take advantage of high tide to tow a huge scow through the Reversing Falls........... a simple feat that would have a disastrous outcome "on the rocks " at low tide.

. Moral of the story......... sleep , rest or simply play it cool when tide's out.... or maybe dig a few clams or get a tan !......... and go for broke when tide is high . Life just might be a wee bit more agreeable  this way !! 

Time and Tide Wait For No Man !!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each day when we trek the beach at Saints' Rest and look out to sea I become overwhelmed with awe at the sheer might and immensity of it all........... the Bay of Fundy with the highest tides in the world ( 51 feet or 17 meters straight up and down ) ...... unfathomable  volumns of water measured by gazillions of gallons to the power of 2 ad  infinitum that disappear and reappear with astounding predictability twice daily. Quite a show ... and for me a highly religious experience. It looks very much like the needlepoint and crochet work of Saint Thomas Aquinas ' Prime Mover.

I bend over and pick up a few rocks and pebbles embedded in the sand at my feet and once again find myself staring the creation mystery straight in the face. The silent witnesses in my hands , nevertheless , bear loud and clear testimony to eons and eons of volcanic activity followed by the successive  stratification and hardening of molten lava into compressed layer upon compressed layer .... stratum upon stratum...... still visible to the naked eye today in spite of their being tossed around and bounced off one another for millenia by the pounding , relentless waves of the North Atlantic.

Now science tells us that the last volcanic eruption in this area... the one that gave the Bay of Fundy its actual shape today ....took place some 60 million years ago . ....... just a drop in the bucket of time on our way back to the primary bang that set the whole shebang in motion I guess. I kneel in humble awe before it all !!

P.S. I threw in a periwinkle to boot with all its growth rings quite visible. They abound here and are sold in supermarkets... ocean snails.  

Just when you think...

Roll Call on Partridge Island

 

There was a solemn moment yesterday at Saint Patrick's Square .... in the shadow of the giant Celtic Cross....... where many of us had gathered to commenorate and remember the thousands of our ancestors who had not made it to the Promised Land .... having died at sea or shortly afterwards upon arrival at Partridge Island of typhus fever.......  within swimming distance of the shore. Manys a tear was near I feel sure when the Master of Ceremonies asked us to gaze out to sea towards the island in silence and reflect upon the hardships and sufferings of our forefathers ... all the while the bagpipes softly shrilled out the mournful lament  The Flowers of the Forest.

Now an old Irish softie like myself would have liked to hear all the names as well as the ages of all 2000 victims read aloud ...... even had it meant standing there another 2 hours or so. However , that didn't happen so I am mentioning but a few here this evening to keep their memory alive in my own wee way.

Date July 10 1847
County Saint John
Place Saint John
Newspaper New Brunswick Courier

 

The following is a return of passengers who died in Hospitalon Partridge Island (St. John) from 7th May to 2nd July with their ages and the names of the vessels from which they landed: From Brig "Midas" from Galway - John SHAUGHNESSY, age 30; Martin WALSH, age 18. From Brig "Thorney" from Donegal - Barbara PRESTON, age 65; Mary TUMMANY, 26; Andrew TAIT, 35; James LYNCH, 40; Bernard HIGGINS, 25; Michael MAHIR, 26; Ellen CATTEN, 28. From Barque "Aldebaran" from Sligo - Andrew DEVITT, 50; Michael GILLAN, 18; John McCALEE, 32; Philip FORD, 20; Mary KELLY, 27; James KILMARTIN, 40; John McMANUS, 33; William RAFTER, 50; Mary HARRINGTON, 8; John DOUGAN, 60; Conly TUMMANY, 23; Larky McCUE, 25; Bartley MANTAN, 30; John MURRAY, 26; Patrick CULGIN, 28; Honora BRAY, 26; Barbara PRESTON, 60; Mary GUNNING, 9 mos.; Bernard KELLEY, 30; Thomas RAFTER, 30; Mary SHEA, 2; Peter COOPER, 35; Sarah BRANNAN, 25; Charles LAYMAN, 30; Mary McGEE, 30; Patrick MALONEY, 20; Mary MACK, 8; Michael MULLANEY, 20; Con. CORRAGAN,10; Thomas JUDGE, 40; Mary MALONEY, 25; Catherine FOX, 20; Margaret MORRISON, 25; Michael KENNON, 20; Peggy SULLIVAN, 1 1/2; Mary MANN, 25; James DYER, 27; Michael LAHEY, 30; Jerry CRONIN, 27; Martin CLARKE, 22; Mary MORRISEY, 25; Patrick McDERMOTE, 10; John RAFTER, 30; Ann BOYCE, 6; Unity GRAY, 23; Jerry McMANUS, 4; Mary LEAREY, 3; Mary HARRINGTON, 30; Catherine RAFTER, 25; John MARTIN, 15; Mary OPERAN, 9; Mary HARRINGTON, 9; Jerry SULLIVAN, 10; Winny CONLEY, 40; Michael CLIFFORD, 23; Bridget DOHERTY, 23; James McGEE, 4; John GREEN, 22; Patrick CONLEY, 40; Honora McGEE, 25; Bridget COIL, 18; Henry DOGAN, 18; Catherine ALLAN, 12; Lawrence MORIN, 30; Thomas DOUGAN, 13; Francis GILLESPIE, 13; John MORRISON, 23; Charles FLYNN, 24; Owen COUGHLIN, 10; Rody McMORRISY, 33; Ann GILL, 36; From Barque "Mary Harrington" from Donegal - Patrick KERIGAN, 20. From Barque "Marchioness of Clydesdale" from Londonderry - Charles DUFFY, age 40. From Barque "Amazon" from Liverpool - Winfred CUMMIDY, age46; Briget MARVEN, 25; Ann DUGGAN, 2 1/2; Mary HOBIN, 27; Rachel GYPSUM, 22; Norry SULLIVAN, 30; Charles McGUIRE, 8; James GIBSON, 30; Patrick McDONAGH, 25; Patrick McDONOUGH, 20; Catherine CURRYAN, 16; Martin AIKIN, 16; John COFFEE, 40; Catherine OWEN, 56; Thomas McGRAUGH, 30; Bernard MORIN, 4; William KENNEDY, 50; James GILL, 4; Joseph MARTIN, 2; Margaret CRAIG, 40; William KENNEDY, 35; Margaret McDONOUGH, 3 mos.; Margaret LOW, 50; John MORAN, 50; George CORR, 33; Francis W. MULLIN, 45; Alexander TAYLOR, 38; William BARRET, 31; Ellen KENNEDY, 60. From Barque "Pallas" from Cork - Peter RYAN, 22; Jerry CRONIN, 30; Jerry CRUMMINS, 25; Timothy CRUMMINS, 25; Margaret CARTY, 25; Mary CARTY, 20; Mary HICKEY, 25; Mary HARRISON, 54; Mary HARRINGTON, 50; Andrew MANNIAN, 40; Capt. HALL, 45; Daniel LINEHAN, 25; Catherine DONAHOUGH, 39; Jerry HARRIGAN, 60; Mary CLANCE, 20; Patrick KEEFE, 25. From Barque "Governor Douglas" from Cork - James McGINNIS,25; Margaret HALEY, 5; Hurly SULLIVAN, 35; John NEIL, 34; Mary NICKOLSON, 30; Patrick RANNEY, 42; John QUINN, 22; Daniel LYNCH 22; Mary McNEELY, 26. From Ship "AEolus" from Sligo - Sally TOHER, 18; David HENRY, 55; Unity BURNS, 11; Patrick CRADE, 7; Biddy KILBRIDE, 15; Mary HARTT, 25; Mary McLOUGHLIN, 40. From Brig "Inconstant" from Cork - Ellen McCARTY, 20; Catherine HENNISAY, 25; Ellen McCARTY, 25. From Brig "Dealy" from Bantry - Bridget CONNY, age 10; Catherine COLLINS, age 20; Ellen HALEY, 17. From Brig "Preserverance" from Cork - Robert HUES, 60; John McCARTY, 40; Catherine O'HARRIN, 55; Catherine O'HERRIN, 50; Daniel AHERRIN, 53; Ellen MORRISON, 15; Patrick MURRAY, 40; John CRAIG, 19; John LINESA, 33; Constantia BRESLIN, 20. From Brig "Mary" from Cork - Michael CRONIN, 28; Thomas FORD, 30; Johanna LEARY, 12; Bridget HURLY, 16; James LYNCH, 36. From Brig "Ocean" from Cork - Mary RAFTER, 32. From Ship "Sir Charles Napier" from Londonderry - John MITCHEL, 18; Hugh BOYCE, 60. From Barque "Malvina" from Baltimore, Ireland - James CARNEY, 26. From Brig "Friends" from Waterford via St. John's, Nfld. - William CONNER, 25. From Schr. "Mary" from Cork - Margaret COUGHLIN, 25. From Brigatine "Caledonia" from Cork - Anne McMANUS, 50. From Brig "Hannah" from Sligo - John FOLEY, 23; John McCUGLE, 32. From Vessel not named, Peter FINNIGAN, 30.

 

 

 

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In The Name of My Forefathers !!

It's that time of year again , my friends , when the teary - eyed Green Folk .... leprechauns in their belfries and shamrocks growing out of their coat lapels , nostrils and earlobes ..... congregate at the local teach tábhairne to belt out a few verses of Danny Boy or Mother Machree while belting down great quantities of green beer and uisce beatha ........ all this because Saint Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland .... and the English sailed us out many centuries later on the despicably criminal death ships to the Americas !!! .......bountiful land made of green cheese and overflowing with Bailey's and Tullamore Dew !!

Now some of these fine folks might start boasting their Irish ancestry and identity by claiming that their kin had taken part in the Tain Bó Cualinge ( Cattle Raid at Cooley ) and were still on the enemy's most wanted list ..... but please don't believe them as the Cattle Raid at Cooley is the greatest saga in Irish mythology.  A few may even arrogate direct ancestral ties to some Irish lord , baron or earl .... but there once again I say "caveat "... beware ! as those terms are English aristocratic titles and , in no way , correspond to traditional Irish political vocabulary or categories. The only two true Irish terms for the leader or chief of a traditional clan or sept  and his / her deputy chief have always been "taoiseach "and " tánaiste " and are in current use even today . The present Taoiseach of the Dáil Éireann ( Assembly of Ireland ) is Brian Ò Comhain ( Brian Cowen ) and his backup tánaiste is Máire Ní Cochláin  ( Mary Coughlan ). The acting uachtarán or president is Máire Pádraigín Bean Mhic Ghiolla Íosa ( Mary McAleese ........ Mary Patricia , wife of the son of the servant of Jesus ! ). Now there 's a heraldic family name !  Shame on the conqueror , his scribes , tax collectors and shipping agents for masacring our surnames beyond  recognition !!......... among other " misdemeanors " of the sort

Forensic Geneology : Me and My Totem Pole !!

 

A few days ago my on-line friend , Barb, asked me whether I was still hot on the trail of  my forebearers ........ to which I shall now answer her by saying , " Yes , Barb , Yes..... and more so than ever since here in Saint John I have access to all the archival sources both ecclesiastical and civil necessary to write a doctorate on my family and their network of friends down through the ages ...... their occupations , hardships , successes and misfortunes  from the day Owen and Mary McAnulty along with their sons ,  Seamus and Myles , left their "coffin ship " in 1847 to the present day ."

Date April 14 1884
County Saint John
Place Saint John
Newspaper The Daily Telegraph

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On Friday afternoon a little girl, Katie McANULTY, age 10 years 10 mos., d/o James McANULTY of Portland (St. John) disappeared from her father's house near Murray's mills. (see original)

While researching the tragic drowning of little Katie  , my great aunt , just below the mill at the Reversing Falls I noticed that her godparents back in 1873 had been  Angus and Sarah McDonald .... so I decided to find out more about them. Did Angus and my great grandfather work together at the mill ? Did they live near each other ? And usually you ask someone you know well or a family member to sponsor your child at baptism , etc... I simply wanted to  know more about this couple... so I checked out the newspapers and city directories between 1873 and 1893 only to discover  that it was not necessarily a good thing to be named Angus McDonald in the Maritime Provinces  during the latter three decades of the 19th century !!

Gloucester, Mass. Nov. 2nd - Angus MCDONALD, 28 years old, a native of Cape Breton, washed overboard from Schr. "Maggie E. McKenzie" on passage home from Newfoundland, Jan. 26, 1892 and was drowned.

Harley Road (Kent Co.) Angus McDONALD took sick ten days ago and died 25th Feb. He was in the prime of life and has been in Boston for the last six months. His father went to Boston on a visit and came home with him and a few weeks after he was dead.

On Saturday last, while Donald McDONALD (miller) and his son Angus McDONALD, about 21 years of age, were repairing a lever in connection with the water gate of their mill, the temporary scaffolding on which they stood gave way, precipitating both of them down upon the water wheel, which happened at that moment to turn by the accidental opening of the water gate, the men in their fall having pressed the lifting lever. The son was instantly killed or drowned under the wheel; but the father, although passing under the wheel, was extracted alive by some of his family. Dr. McIntosh of this town was immediately called to attend the wonded man. An inquest was held on the body of the young McDonald. - 'Antigonish Casket'

On Saturday, 3rd Nov., Angus McDONALD, living on Brown's Mountain, was killed by the accidental discharge of his own gun. It appears that he was looking for a bear that had killed a hiefer belonging to him. His gun was loaded with two bullets besides some shot. While going down the other side of the mountain in company with another man, the gun slipped out of his arms and striking against a stone went off, the charge entering the upper part of the unfortunate man's thigh, killing him instantly. - 'Pictou Standard'

Am Inquest was held St. Peter's Village, Bathurst (Glouc. Co.) 11th inst., before John McKenna, Esq., Coroner on view of the body of Angus McDONALD, age 19, who was accidentally killed in the vicinity of the Lakes of the Big Nepisiguit River, some 80 miles from Bathurst, by a decayed hollow tree falling on him on morn. 6th inst. The deceased was in the employ of Messrs. Ferguson Rankin & Co. as a lumberman at the above lkes. He was interred in the graveyard of Saint George's Church, Bathurst. (see original)

Mrs. Mary McDONALD, age 105, a resident of Souris East, P.E.I., half a mile from that village, walks that distance to church and home again, making both trips usually without help and without halt. She was a McCORMACK. She is an aunt of Sheriff McCORMACK of Souris. She emigrated to this colony from Long Island, off the coast of Scotland, ninety years ago. Bishop McINTYRE's father was a fellow passenger. Angus McDONALD, her husband, died some years ago at an advanced age. - Examiner'

On Wednesday morn. a body very much decomposed was picked up in Halifax Harbor. It was supposed to be the remains of Angus McDONALD who fell overboard and was drowned from the ship "Northern" last December.

On 11th ult., Angus McDONALD, known as Angus McDonald TULLOCK of East Point, P.E.I. who has been employed at Sawyer's Lobster establishment, New London, during last year, was drowned while carrying lobster traps from New London to Rustico. The boat capsized. He tried to swim ashore, was seized with cramps and died.

d. River Hebert, 9th Oct., Sarah McDONALD w/o Angus McDONALD, age 40

N.B. Sarah died in 1877....three years after acting as godmother to little Katie.