Earlier this year, the Fredericton Region Museum was lucky enough to get donation that shows the personal life of a New Brunswick family almost 100 years ago!
Miss Amelia Sara Ward (1896-1987) was born in Burton, New Brunswick, and lived most of her life in nearby Oromocto. Her family owned ‘Stocker’s Hotel’ in Oromocto, and it was there that she met her husband, Mr. William Blair de Lacolle, a resident of Québec. De Lacolle worked as a railroad engineer, and travelled frequently between Québec, Halifax, and rural New Brunswick for his work.
Amelia’s cards were graciously donated to the museum by her granddaughter, Sylvie Duquette of Lacolle, Québec. They were sent our way because of their historical link of Oromocto.
The postcards in this collection date between 1910 and 1918, from several correspondences. Amelia was one of the younger children in a large household (around twenty siblings), and postcards were one of the few ways such a large and far-flung family could stay in contact.
…And of course, there are some ‘steamier’ romantic messages between Amelia and her husband – 1914 style, of course.
Click on any of the above photos to view the entire album on our Facebook page! Some of the hundred-year-old handwriting was a bit tough to decipher, so if any of our readers have suggestions for changes, please leave them below! As always, we appreciate any help!
Stocker’s Hotel was never owned by the Ward family. It was built as a barracks during the War of 1812, or the Fenian Raids, and bought by John Hazen (whose neighboring 1760s house remained standing until the 1950s). The houses and land descended through the Hazen family to Mary Isabel White, wife of John E. Stocker, who operated it as a hotel. I believe there were 19 bedrooms.
The building was burned in the great fire that destroyed the village in 1919. A house was rebuilt on the same footprint, called “River View” . That house, and a bungalow built in the 1930s, and the land were inherited by their daughter (my grandmother), who lived there all were expropriated by the Army in 1956.
Miss Ward’s family history is not correct. This land, now the Sir John Douglas Hazen Park, never left the family, nor was it ever rented out.
Thanks so much for posting this! I’ve been looking for fun things to do in New Brunswick, Canada, and this looks like one that I’ll be visiting! Looks like an amazing collection of postcards!