Centre d'Études Acadiennes Anselme-Chiasson

Moncton

Located at the Université de Moncton, the Centre d'Études Acadiennes Anselme-Chiasson boasts the world’s largest collection of sources documenting the history and culture of Acadia and its peoples. Besides preserving the Institutional Archives of the University, the Centre also maintains Private Archives and Folklore Archives. The Centre provides various Guides, Indexes, and Digital Indexes for its private collections. Its Library holds over 12,000 books and pamphlets, and over 3,000 microfilms, and a large selection of French Newspapers. Researchers may search the Library’s catalog here.

Provincial Archives of New Brunswick

Fredericton

As the official repository for New Brunswick, the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick boasts a significant collection of sources related to the early history of the province. Its Government Records contain over 8,000 metres of textual documents related to provincial governance, much of which dates back to the late 18th century. Nearly 2,000 collections of Private Records are also available, with many going back to the Acadian and pre-Loyalist periods. There are also over 50,000 Maps and Plans and more than 250,000 pages of Architectural Drawings in the Archives.

University of New Brunswick Archives & Special Collections

Fredericton

The University of New Brunswick Archives & Special Collections maintains a Book Collection of over 48,000 rare prints, and over 6,000 feet of University Archives and Private Papers. Early Americanists may be especially interested in the Winslow Papers and the Robert Leonard Hazen Collection. The Archives provides various Finding Aids to assist researchers. For more information, search the University Library’s Catalog. Some of the Archives’ documents have been digitized and area part of its Digital Collections, including the Benjamin Marston Diaries and Indian Affairs Documents.

Other New Brunswick Archives & Sources

Many counties retain many of their earliest documents, including court records and civil lists. Check with local county clerks to see what is available. Several smaller research libraries and universities in New Brunswick maintain Special Collections with limited sources (mostly printed) related to the early history of the province, including the Mount Allison University Archives.

Several regional repositories collect sources related to early New Brunswick, including the Archives of Ontario, the Beinecke Library, the Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec, the Detroit Public Library, the John Carter Brown Library, the Massachusetts Historical Society, the New-York Historical Society, the Nova Scotia Archives, the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, and the William L. Clements Library. New Brunswick sources can also be found at Library and Archives Canada.

New Brunswick was a colonial space of both New France and British North America. As such, early New Brunswick sources can be found in France at the Archives Nationales d’Outre-Mer and the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, and in Great Britain at the British Library and the National Archives at Kew.