Fredericton's Old Burial Ground - Seann Chladh

James Taylor senior was a Loyalist who arrived at Pointe Sainte-Anne in 1783. Born in Port Glasgow Scotland, he had emigrated to New York when young and served as a Sergeant with the 3rd New Jersey Volunteers during the American Revolution. In Fredericton he was known as "James The Elder" (as differentiation from his son James), and is credited with establishing “one of the largest and most respectable firms” in the colony—with business interests in the mercantile trade, as well as timber, shipbuilding, and general construction operations. His place of business was located just below Regent on Queen Street, across from the (present-day) former York County Court House.  James’ three sons, James, William, and John F., formally entered into a partnership with their father in 1821, forming “James Taylor Senior and Company”. In addition to their store, the Taylors operated a mill and shipyard on the western end of Fredericton. They also owned a mill on the Nashwaak (present-day Ma...

Prior to 1927 there had always been a Society Piper. The first was Robert Gowan, who joined the Society in 1826.  He arrived in New Brunswick from Ireland in 1818 as a piper in the 74th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot, and was garrisoned here from 1818 to 1823. Robert assisted John Baird as a teacher in the Barrack School for children of the regiment, and when his unit departed, stayed in Fredericton and opened a "Painting, Engraving and Writing" shop on the corner of Regent Street. This is where he was hired to engrave the Society's mull horn in 1826. He later became a bookkeeper in the lumbering firm of Robert Rankin & Co. Later, when the Central Bank of New Brunswick was established in 1834, he was appointed bank cashier, and then in 1839 he entered the Crown Land Office. There he kept meticulous accounts of all lands granted in the province (his six-volume leather bound ledgers are preserved in the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick).  Robert Gowan was also a res...