The Upper St. John River Valley

Northern Aroostook County, Maine and
Madawaska & Victoria Counties, New Brunswick

A history of the communities and people

About this site

Documents and Transcriptions:
- Census transcriptions
- Church records
- Land grants and surveys
- Early visitors to the region
- Other records

Historical Maps

Townships and early settlers:
- Madawaska & Victoria Counties
- Aroostook County

History of the Region

Family Histories

Documents from other regions:

Message Board / Discussion Forum

Sign the New Guest-book!

Links

What's New

Français

Important: Save the Internet

This website covers communities in the St.John River valley, as well as in the valleys of the Allagash and the Fish Rivers in northern Aroostook County, and the valleys of the Green and Madawaska Rivers in Madawaska County

The upper St.John River valley was originally inhabited by members of the Maliseet nation, who called the region Wulustuk. Early settlers from Quebec, Acadia and Maine referred to the region as The Madawaska Settlement

This website also includes information on the rest of Aroostook County, Maine and on Victoria County, New Brunswick

This page is the starting point for history and genealogy links for the communities in the valley of the upper St. John River, or Wulustuk, in Aroostook County, Maine, USA and in Madawaska & Victoria Counties, New Brunswick, Canada.

In the early days the community spanned both banks of the St. John River, known to the original population of the valley as Wulustuk. Many of the documents transcribed here, especially from the first half of the 1800s, therefore include communities on both sides of the river.

Documents and Transcriptions

Censuses

1820 US Census of Madawaska Missing from the microfilm copy of the census, now found! Both banks of the Upper St.John River Valley, now in Aroostook and Madawaska Counties. Includes name index
1830 US Census of the Madawaska Settlement Penobscot County, Maine and York County, New Brunswick Both North and South banks of the St.John River, now in Aroostook and Madawaska Counties. Includes name index
1831 Census of Kamouraska County, Lower Canada (Québec) Includes Rivière-Ouelle, Rivière-du-Loup, and Ste-Anne-de-la-Pocatière Many of the inhabitants of the Upper St.John River Valley came from the Kamouraska region of Québec; this census provides info on some of these settlers, their families and neighbors (in French and English)
1833 New Brunswick Special Census of Madawaska Both North and South banks of the St.John; includes name index.
1837 Maine Census of the Madawaska Settlements Information on the 1837 Census
1840 US Census of Aroostook County The entire county; includes the Madawaska Settlements, including communities in Carleton Co., New Brunswick; includes name index
1850 US Census of Aroostook County (includes online name index)
- Mortality Schedule of the 1850 census
1851 New Brunswick Census of Victoria County (with online name index).
1858 censuses of Ste.Luce and St.François-Xavier parishes, covering both sides of the St.John River (includes online name index)
1860 US Census of communities in the Upper St.John River Valley, Aroostook Co., Maine Annotated, includes index. Now with searchable database!
1872 census of St.Bruno Parish, Van Buren (includes online name index and searchable database)
Census transcriptions annotated! Check out the popup boxes in the census transcriptions!
These popup boxes include information on marriages, maiden names, relationships, etc. of people who appear in the census transcriptions on this site. For now, annotations of the 1860 census and the 1850 census of Northern Aroostook County. Adding annotations to 1820, 1830, 1831, 1833, and 1840 censuses, and to the 1831 survey; continuing to add annotations to 1860, 1851, and 1850; Adding cross references to appearances of individuals in other censuses.

Church Records

Early missionaries of Madawaska Territory (both sides of St.John River, 1786-1857)
Ste Luce Parish, Frenchville: Parish register Information abstracted from the Ste Luce registers. Search the database of the parish records, online.
- Early Baptisms at Ste Luce, 1843-1860. Now online: Searchable database of baptisms
- Early Marriages of Ste.Luce, 1843-1860. Online searchable database of marriages
- Early Burials of Ste Luce, 1843-1860. Online searchable database of burials.
- 1844 & 1850 Confirmations at Ste.Luce church
- 1858 Census of Ste.Luce parish. Covers entire parish, both sides of St.John River
St François-Xavier de Madawaska Parish
- 1858 Census of St.François-Xavier parish (part of Ste Luce parish census), both sides of St.John River
- Pew-rent paid by parishioners, 1847-1857
1872 Census of St.Bruno Parish, Van Buren (includes online name index and searchable database)

Land Grants and Surveys

Native Peoples of the Upper St.John River Valley The first inhabitants of the valley were the Wulustukieg or Maliseet people; a brief and incomplete history of this original community Updated with 1841 report on Maleseets of Madawaska.
1787, 1790 & 1794 British Land Grants in the upper St.John River valley: owners, locations and other details; plus owners in 1831 (on both banks of the river) updated from original documents
1817 & 1822 Military Settlement Survey of the St.John River Instructions from July 1817 for a survey of lots along the St.John between Bristol and Grand Falls and 1822 list of settlers on the military lots.
1827 List of American citizens in possession of lands in Madawaska Information from the Justice of the Peace for the County of York, Province of New Brunswick
1831 report on the inhabitants of the St.John River valley by Deane and Kavanagh (Details on individuals living on both North and South banks; also includes observations on the region and its inhabitants. Includes name index.)
1844 Report on Lands Held by Settlers in valleys of upper St.John and Aroostook Rivers Greatly revised and updated from original document! Includes online name index.

Other Records

1817-1821 New Brunswick Grain Bounty, York County, by Norm DeMerchant
1828 Depositions and Testimony of Madawaska Inhabitants Personal information from 16 Madawaska inhabitants.
1841 Report on the Malecite/Wulustukieg Nation in the St.John River Valley Report by Moses Perley for the New Brunswick government
Visitors to the Upper St.John River Valley Over the course of the 17th-19th centuries numerous travellers visited the upper St.John Valley and published their impressions. Descriptions of these visits are reproduced here

Historical Maps

Detail from 1808 Map of the United States of North America, by Aaron Arrowsmith, from the David Rumsey Map Collection.
Detail from 1814 Map of Maritimes: Border region between New Brunswick, Lower Canada, and Maine, by John Purdy, from the David Rumsey Map Collection.
1815 Map of the Route from Halifax to Rivière-du-Loup, via the St.John River valley, by Joseph Bouchette, Surveyor-General of Lower Canada
Detail from 1829 Map of Québec: Kamouraska, Témiscouata Portage, and Madawaska Settlements by Samuel Holland showing towns from which settlers in Lower Canada (Québec) migrated, and the Portage they took to move to the Madawaska Settlement.
1831 Map of Maine by David H. Burr (in color) showing Maine counties; the borders claimed by the US and Great Britain; as well as the boundary recommended by the King of the Netherlands in his arbitration decision (large file, 301kb)
1835 Map of the Public Lands of Maine by George W. Coffin. Shows land by township with information on names, size, grantees; clickable. (Very large file, 1mb)
1838 Map of Maine by Thomas G. Bradford, showing US claims to the border, from the David Rumsey Map Collection.
1839/40 Settlements on the Upper St.John River from the Madawaska River westward to the Allagash River. Survey showing location of houses and the names of some settlers on both banks of the river.
Map of the Boundary Dispute, 1782-1842, with British and US claims. (Large file, 500kb)
1859 Map of Maine, with township and range numbers, by J.H. Colton (very large file, 1.7mb)
1895 Map of Aroostook County, Maine (Large file, 550kb)

Brief Histories of the Region's Towns and early settlers

Information on Victoria County:

Military Settlement Survey Instructions from July 1817 for a survey of lots along the St.John between Bristol and Grand Falls from Norm DeMerchant; and 1822 list of settlers on the military lots, from Carleton County GenWeb site.

Information on the rest of Aroostook County:

1820 US Census of Houlton and New Limerick Missing from the microfilm copy of the census, now found!
The first St. Denis Cemetery, Fort Fairfield Cemetery transcription by Natalie Somers Undercofler
Origin of the names of Aroostook County townships and early settlers
Linda Allen's "First Settlers of the Aroostook River Valley" pages at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~lallen/
Great site on the early settlers of communities along the Aroostook River: Ashland, Caribou, Castle Hill, Fort Fairfield, Mapleton, Masardis and Oxbow, Presque Isle, Washburn

History of the Madawaska Region

Native Peoples
The Border dispute: How Madawaska, or the Upper St.John Valley communities, became divided by an international border; why US surveys and censuses until 1842 included communities now in New Brunswick, and why the 1833 New Brunswick census of Madawaska included communities now in Maine
Early visitors to the region
Acadians
French Canadians (Québecois)
- How the French of northern Maine were viewed by Anglos in the 19th century
Irish / Scottish from New Brunswick
Loyalists
Americans
People from other places

Family Histories

Gagnon families of Frenchville
- My Gagnon line: Descendants and ancestors of Prospère Gagnon and Marie-Anne Ouellette, who moved from Kamouraska, Québec to what's today Frenchville in about 1831
- The other Frenchville Gagnons:
  - Étienne Gagnon and Marie Fortin who moved from Les Éboulements in about 1831
  - François-Marie Gagnon and Marie Duval who moved from Kamouraska in about 1835
Some of my other Upper St.John River Valley lines (with year of arrival in valley)
- Jalbert Ancestors and descendants of Édouard Jalbert and Luce Vaillancourt (about 1839)
- Chamberland Ancestors and descendants of Léandre Chamberland and Éléonore Alexandre (between 1831 and 1840)
- Daigle Ancestors and descendants of Hilarion Daigle and Madeleine Ayotte (Acadians, from Madawaska)
- Dionne Ancestors and descendants of Antoine Dionne and Salomée Miville dit Deschênes (never left La Pocatière; children and grandchildren moved to Madawaska in 1840s-1850s)
  New: Reunion of the Dionne families of the upper St.John River valley: June 2005!
- St. Jean/St.John Ancestors and desendants of Théodule Anctil dit St-Jean and Sophie-Rose Marquis (never left Île-Verte; their son Nyzaire moved to Madawaska about 1860)
- Russell Ancestors and descendants of Samuel Russell and Ellen Baldwin (about 1855)
- Tardif Ancestors and descendants of Antoine Tardif and Suzanne Cayouette (never left Kamouraska; their children Louis and Artémise moved to Madawaska about 1844)
- Ouellette Ancestors and descendants of Amable Ouellette and Esther Gardner (about 1844)
Other people Information on other early settlers in the Madawaska Territory and in Aroostook County, Maine

Documents from other regions

In the course of researching my own ancestors I've transcribed documents from some of the regions from which they came before moving to the Upper St.John River valley.

Gaspé: Gaspé and Bonaventure Counties of Lower Canada (Québec)
Kamouraska Region of Lower Canada (Québec)
Somerset Co., Maine (upper Kennebec River valley)

This website works best with the Firefox browser. Click on button to download Firefox for free. Info on website requirements

About the site

Links

What's New

View and Sign the Upper St.John Valley Guestbook
Now: New Guest-book! Check it out

Website Message Board / Discussion Forum!

Important: Save the Internet!