The database projects listed below offer access to various types of source materials for writing about the history, literature, culture and peoples of Atlantic Canada and beyond. Some of these databases were built by students and scholars, including former research associates of the UNB Atlantic Canada Studies Centre while Elizabeth Mancke was Director. Others are the creation of independent scholars working on various projects on the Atlantic region. These databases are hosted on separate servers, but are linked here in an effort to make them more accessible and centralized for researches interested in Atlantic Canada Studies.
A note for users: I am actively working on this list, as well as a separate page that will feature resources for writing and publishing about Atlantic Canada. More coming soon!
- The British North America Legislative Database
- The Marianne Grey Otty Database
- New Brunswick Historical Newspapers Project
- Vocabularies of Identity Database
- Early Modern Maritime Recipes
- The New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia
The British North America Legislative Database
This database features images and transcriptions of legislation passed by the pre-Confederation assemblies of eastern British North America: Nova Scotia (1758-1867); Cape Breton (1785-1820); Prince Edward Island (1768-1867); New Brunswick (1786-1867); Lower Canada (1792-1838); Upper Canada (1792-1840), the United Canadas (1841-1867); and Newfoundland (1832-1867).
This database is hosted by UNB Libraries and the Centre for Digital Scholarship, both located at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. Funding for this project is made possible by Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Atlantic Canada Studies held by Elizabeth Mancke (2012-2023). The BNALD is no longer an active project, meaning that there will be no future improvements, but continues to be accessible to users.
The Marianne Grey Otty Database
The Otty Database offers users access to transcribed Anglican Church records from the Gagetown, New Brunswick area. These records were originally created by traveling ministers, the records cover marriages, baptisms, and deaths between 1786 – 1841. This resource is an excellent platform for genealogists, historians, and students, with notable presence of early loyalist settlers and their descendants. The Otty Database was created by the Microfroms Department at UNB Libraries; further reading about the use of early loyalist vital statistics, and the making of the Otty Database, see Dr. Leah Grandy’s blog post on Atlantic Loyalist Connections.
New Brunswick Historical Newspapers Project
Newspapers at UNB Libraries provides researchers with unified access to UNB Libraries’ current and historical newspaper collections in all formats, from New Brunswick and across the world. Search and discover print, microform, and selected digital newspaper titles (including New Brunswick Historical Newspapers Online collection) available from UNB Libraries.
Vocabularies of Identity Database
The VOI Database provides users with access to journalistic texts compiled from New Brunswick newspapers between 1880 and 1940. Newspapers were an important component in the building of identities for both anglophone and francophone linguistic communities, making New Brunswick a unique site for the study of distinct Acadian and loyalist descended peoples.
Both groups experienced devastating upheaval in the 18th century, and by the 1880s, were marking important anniversaries. Combining quantitative and qualitative approaches, this interuniversity and multidisciplinary project analyzes the evolution of collective identities in public discourse among Acadians and loyalist descendants in New Brunswick at the end of the 19th century and in the first part of 20th century.
Early Modern Maritime Recipes
Early Modern Maritime Recipes examines recipes circulating before 1800 in print and manuscript in the area now defined as Canada’s Maritime provinces. Early modern recipe writing focused on food and medicine, but recorded a range of other practices associated with alchemy, cosmetics, veterinary, medicine, and laundry, amongst other things.
These recipes are texts about knowledge exchange and social networks. They reflect the commercial, social, and familial relationships involved in the acquisition of knowledge, record the use of goods in making products, and connect domestic practices and institutionalized learning. Early Modern Maritime Recipes compiles a record of extant recipes by digitizing and transcribing recipes from archival collections throughout the Maritime provinces.
The New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia
Despite the province’s rich literary history, however, resources for the study of New Brunswick literature are rare. No New Brunswick encyclopedia exists, nor was a university course solely on New Brunswick literature taught before 2008.
This site is intended to fill that gap. Its prominent feature is an encyclopedia of biographical, critical, and bibliographic information about more than 150 New Brunswick writers and literary subjects. As well, the site provides resources for further study and teaching, and links to regional studies centres.
An initiative of Dr. Tony Tremblay, Canada Research Chair in New Brunswick Studies, this site aims to be a useful research tool for students, scholars, and teachers interested in New Brunswick literature.
Though most of the authors featured on this site write primarily in English, we are expanding to include Acadian and Francophone authors. Our intention is to introduce Acadian writers to English readers.