Fredericton's Old Burial Ground - Seann Chladh

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...

In 1853 the Society erected a memorial in the Old Burial Ground on Brunswick Street for Piper John Richard Allan (1835 – 1853). Robert Gowan was instrumental in this activity. Piper Allan had been a native of Paisley in Renfrewshire Scotland, and was serving with the 72nd Duke of Albany’s Own Highlanders in Fredericton, when he died tragically on January 6th 1853. He was only 18 years of age.  Acting on behalf of the Society, Robert Gowan made arrangements with the Regimental Commander to have Piper Allan’s grave marked with a stone that featured a deer’s head (crest of the Regiment), along with a broken chanter, broad sword, plaid, and a thistle in full flower - as was reported to the Society membership in 1853: The forthwith appointed at the last quarterly meeting to procure a tombstone to be placed at the grave of John Allan a Piper in the 72nd Highlanders, have attended to that duty and beg to report that they have made arrangements with Mr. Peter Cormack of Portland (St John) ...

SCOTS AND THE OLD PUBLIC BURIAL GROUND, FREDERICTON  by Dr. Ellen MacGillivray, c. 1991 When John Ross and I were co-historians of the Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew from 1985-1987 we had not yet started to sort the Society's documents left in John's care by late Dr. D. J. MacLeod. We became interested in finding the burial plots in the Old Public Burial Ground of the Chartered Members of the Society as well as those of others who came later. But first some notes on the place itself.  THE OLD PUBLIC BURIAL GROUND  According to Dr. Lillian Maxwell (1937) on August 2nd, 1785 the Governor-in- Council appointed Trustees to lay out Fredericton. One of these Trustees was Lieutenant Dugald Campbell who made the survey in 1785-1786: "The Town Plat as first laid out extended from Smythe street to Sunbury street and from the river to Charlotte street. The blocks were laid out to cover four and a half acres, the streets one chain wide. A square was laid out in the middle of th...

Fredericton's Old Burial Ground is located between Brunswick and George streets, on the traditional territory of Wolastoqey People. This Local Historic Place has been recognised as one of the most important cemeteries in New Brunswick. It serves as the final resting place for many individuals who founded New Brunswick, amongst whom are many individuals of Scottish birth. Since 2025 marks the 200 th anniversary of the founding of our Society, we are pleased to share with you the stories behind the memorials you will discover within these serene grounds.

Jane Brandon Quinn sampler, 1818 Collection of the Fredericton Region Museum, 1969.2800.1 Jane Brandon was born in Scotland and immigrated to New Brunswick in 1846. She married William H Quinn in 1850, and together they operated a grocery store at (present-day) 147 Westmorland Street - corner of Westmorland and Brunswick. Their son William A Quinn became a lawyer in the City. Jane made this needlework sampler in 1818, when she was 7 years old. It mourns the death of her brother: Brother thou art gone before us and thy saintly soul has flown. Where tears are wiped from ever eye and sorrow is unknown. Jane Quinn is buried in the Quinn family plot in the Old Burial Ground on Brunswick Street. Her sampler now rests in the collection of the Fredericton Region Museum. 

Alexander McKILLIGAN was laid to rest in the Old Burying Ground, Fredericton on Thursday. He came to Fredericton 47 years ago from Miramichi to which place he had emigrated from the north of Scotland several years previously. Engaging here in the baking business with Mr. CLARK, whose bake house and shop were in Waterloo Row, he soon branched out for himself. About that time he married the housekeeper of Lady COLEBROOK wife of Lt. GOV. COLEBROOK. She died long ago and he was buried in the same grave that held his first love. Subsequently he became City Marshall. Marrying a second time, he left the city about twenty years ago, taking up residence on his farm near the junction of the Tay and Nashwaak. There he lived till Tuesday last, periodically coming to town. He was a member of the old St. Andrews Society. He was one of the fathers of curling in N.B. In 1854, John NEILL founded the Fredericton Curling Club and of the eight original members, he alone is left. The others, who have prece...

by Ian Andrews -  Past President, Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew -  The first Mayor of Fredericton was John Simpson, a prominent citizen of Scottish origin who had been actively involved in the life of his chosen community. Since John Simpson was a founding member of the Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew in 1825, the FSSA decided to research and produce a short monograph on this “citizen of Fredericton”. The booklet was edited by FSSA members Ellen MacGillivary, John Ross and Wallace Brown and was published in 1987 under the title John Simpson: First Mayor of Fredericton and the First Secretary of the Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew . The following biographical sketch is adapted from this source.  John Simpson (1795 – 1863)  John Simpson was the epitome of a civic minded individual. His obituary declared that his death on February 22, 1863 had “…deprived the community of one of its most valuable citizens.” John Simpson’s immediate community included the ci...