Sunbury County, Nova Scotia Genealogy

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Nova Scotia

Sunbury County

Guide to Sunbury county ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

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History

Sunbury County was a county in Nova Scotia from 1765 - 1784. It was dissolved when the province of New Brunswick was created in 1784. The county included the north and eastern portions of Cumberland County as well as the eastern portion of the District of Maine. The county's seat and its court of general sessions were established at Campobello. In 1784, the western third of the county was returned to the District of Maine, which was then part of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The remainder became the colony of New Brunswick.

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print
List of Cemeteries in the County

Civil Registrations

According to Nova Scotia Archives Records Management:
"Civil registration of vital statistics began in Nova Scotia in 1763 with the introduction of procedures for obtaining a marriage licence; the procedure was optional and the surviving records are incomplete. Formalized registration of births, deaths and marriages began in 1864 and continued to 1877, at which time record-keeping lapsed for births and deaths, but continued for marriages. Compliance was not universal during this period and there are gaps in the surviving records. Since 1 October 1908, birth, death and marriage registrations have been collected and maintained continuously."

Birth Records

• 1661-1959 - Canada Births and Baptisms, index.
  
• 1702-1896 - Nova Scotia Births and Baptisms, index.
  
• 1864-1877 - Nova Scotia Births, 1864-1877 at FamilySearch — index and images

Marriage Records

• 1711-1909 - Nova Scotia Marriages, index.
  
• 1759-1960 - Court records of Divorce and Matrimonial Causes, 1759-1960; Marriage Bonds 1763-1864; Marriage Registrations 1864-1934, index and images.
  
• 1763-1932 - marriages, index.
  
• 1763-1935 - Nova Scotia, Canada, Marriages, index and images. ($)
  
• 1864-1918 - Nova Scotia Marriages, 1864-1918 at FamilySearch — index and images
  
• 1907-1932 - Nova Scotia Marriages, images.
  

Death Records

• 1864-1877 - Nova Scotia Deaths, 1864-1877 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1864-1957 - Deaths 1864-1877, 1908-1957, index.
  
• 1864-1959 - Deaths 1864-1877, 1908-1959, images and index.
  
• 1864-1960 - Nova Scotia, Canada, Deaths, 1864-1877, 1890-1960 index. ($)
  
• 1890-1955 - Nova Scotia Deaths index.
  
• 1956-1957 - Nova Scotia Deaths index.
  

Census

In Canada, census returns are closed for 92 years after the time of enumeration. Census returns prior to 1851 are rarely complete for any area, and the census returns for Annapolis County in 1851 did not survive.

• 1861 - For each county, the agricultural returns follow immediately after the personal returns for the whole county.
  
• 1871 - The personal returns for each enumeration sub-district appear in schedule one. The agricultural returns are schedules three to five and are keyed to schedule one by page and line number rather than by name.
  

Online Searchable Databases, Books and Images

Year	Name of Collection	Where Available
1671	Acadian genealogy exchange - v. 5, no. 4 Oct 1976;	Acadian Families in 1671 begins on page 118 FamilySearch Digital Library [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/793720903/editions At various libraries; (WorldCat)]
1708	East Coast of Arcadia 1708	At various libraries (WorldCat) FamilySearch
1714	Acadian families in 1714	At various libraries (WorldCat) FamilySearch
1752	1752 census of Isle Royale (Cape Breton, Nova Scotia)	At various libraries (WorldCat) FamilySearch
1770	Nova Scotia 1770 census	Nova Scotia Archives Ancestry ($) FamilySearch

Church Records

• 1720-2001 - Nova Scotia Church Records, images.
  
• 1757-1946 - Acadia, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), images. ($)
  

City, Provincial, and Business Directories

• 1758-1952 Ancestry $ Publications of the governments of Nova Scotia
  

Wills and Probate

• 1760-1993 - Nova Scotia Probate Records and Estate Files, images.
  

Land Records

• 1732-1864 - Nova Scotia land grants, microfilm.
  
• 1763-1970 - Land records, microfilm.
  

• Crown Land Information Management Centre maps, images.
  
• 1760-1993 - Nova Scotia Probate Records, images.
  
• 1765-1800 - Nova Scotia Land Papers images.
  

Additional Reference

• Gilroy, Marion. Loyalists and Land Settlement in Nova Scotia. Halifax: Public Archives of Nova Scotia, 1937.
  

• Smith, Clifford Neal. Whereabouts of Some American Refugees, 1784–1800: the Nova Scotian Land Grants. 7 vols. McNeal, Arizona: Vestland Publications, 1992.

• Land Registration Office - Annapolis County
  396 Main Street
  Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia
  (902) 584-7185
  

Military Records

• The American Civil War : the service records of Atlantic Canadians with the State of Maine volunteers
  
  • FamilySearch
    
  • WorldCat
    
• The civil sword : James Delancey's Westchester Refugees
  
  • FamilySearch
    
• 1749-1867 - Index to commissions in the Public, index.
  

Online Sources

• Veteran Affairs Canada has a Virtual War Memorial with listings of graves and memorials, some with photographs and personal memorabilia. It also has excerpts from wartime letters and diaries.
  

• Library and Archives Canada Records and databases of information over an extensive period of time.
  

• 1910-1967 - The Royal Canadian Navy Virtual archive of non-governmental materials (postcards, letters, photographs, etc.)
  

Websites

• Nova Scotia Genealogy Records Online
  
• Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia
  
• Canadian Genealogy and History Links
  
• Acadia University's Planter Studies Centre, focused on the New England residents who settled in Nova Scotia in the late 1700s.
  

References

• Genealogy Source: Where to Find Genealogical Information in Nova Scotia. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Council of Nova Scotia Archives, 2002.
  
• Elliot, Noel Montgomery, ed. The Atlantic Canadians, 1600–1900: An Alphabetized Directory of the People, Places, and Vital Dates. 3 vols. Toronto: Genealogical Research Library, 1994.
  
• Marble, Allan E. A Catalogue of Published Genealogies of Nova Scotia Families. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Genealogical Association of the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society, 1984.
  
• Morris, Julie. Tracing Your Ancestors in Nova Scotia. Halifax: Public Archives of Nova Scotia, 1987.
  
• Peterson, Jean, Lynn Murphy, and Heather MacDonald. The Loyalist Guide: Nova Scotian Loyalists and Their Documents. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Public Archives of Nova Scotia, 1983.
  
• Punch, Terrence M. Erin's Sons: Irish Arrivals in Atlantic Canada to 1863. 4 vols. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2008-2010.
  
• Smith, Leonard H, and Norma H. Smith. Nova Scotia Immigrants to 1867. 2 vols. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1992. Also digitized and searchable on Ancestry.com
  

 

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