How rivetting! Thank you so much for your kind notes. Now I have to go back through my notes/research files to clarify my thinking. I have a lot of old Saint John newspaper obits, news items and Great Fire of 1877 reports with pictures (written later). Plus old McLaughlin letters, pictures and memorabilia. Fortunately my grgrandfather saved them and I have inherited them (by persistence and cohersion!). What interests me most is that I'm pretty sure an unmarried Frost niece succeeded Sarah Caroline as Matron but I can't find who in my computer. And that annoys me as I like to think of myself as a very careful researcher who ALWAYS records her notes and sources. Many thanks for your input. By the way Sarah Caroline was a UEL descendant from Connecticut. Transcribed copies of her grandmother's diary (and mine but much later) on the voyage from CT to N.B. in 1783 are in the Saint John Museum. Bev On 10/18/09, S. Olfert <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Bev, > > I copied certain pages of the booklet and what I have does not show the > names of Daniel > & Eliza McLaughlin - but I did find the following - > > A picture of Sarah Caroline Frost - first Matron of the Home: Chapter 3, > P12 > > Chapter 1, P5: > "The number o children resident in the home in the first few years seems to > have averaged about 12 > or 13, and one historian of the early years, Mrs. David McLellan, tells us > that the whole number of > children accommodated during the first six years of its existence was 39. > In the late 1850s, a more > commodious building was obtained in Peters Street. In July 1861, the > elderly house-parents resigned > and a matron, Miss Sarah Caroline Frost, was engaged. It was decided that > she would work under the > general direction of a ladies' committee chaired by Mrs. H. Kinnear, and > this arrangement seems to have > continued for some years with success." > > Chapter 3, P11, 12 > "The Great Fire - Wednesday, June 20, 1877, began like any other day in the > lives of Miss Frost and the > 13 young orphans who were in her charge in the Home at the corner of > Carmarthen and Britain streets. It > was a warm day, and about noon a northwest wind blew strongly until by early > afternoon it was approaching > gale force. About 2:30 p.m. a fire broke out in a building owned by Joseph > Fairweather in York Point, > Portland. The fire was about one mile from the Orphans' Asylum and, with > water in between, seemed to give > no cause for alarm. But it spread to adjoining buildings and, fanned by the > fierce wind it was soon racing > along Smyth and Dock streets to the foot of King and the whole orthern side > of King Street was quickly in > flames.... and, by evening, was destroying Carmarthen and Wentworth streets, > so that the Orphans' Asylum > lay directly in its path... the Orphans' Asylum among the hundreds of > properties destroyed,,, and Miss Frost > must have watched the advancing cloud of smoke and flame with horror and > acute concern for her small > charges. > > At some point in the afternoon she must have taken the decision to move the > children to a place of > safety. How the hurried arrangements were made under extreme stress is not > recorded, but by nightfall she > and the children had been given refuge in the General Hospital which had > been built in 1865, and the "Millidge" > Building" whihc had been their home for 13 years had been reduced to > ashes... All minutes and records of the > Asylum were destroyed by the fire. > > Three days later, the directors rented a building in Albion Street, formerly > occupied by the Reform Society, > and there the children remained for about a month.... a letter was received > from Graham V. Ayt, director of the > "Home for Little Wanders" in Boston, Mass., offering to take the Protestant > Orphans' Asylum children into the care > of that Home until such time as they could return to Saint John. The > directors decided to take advantage of this > generous offer, and the sum of $100 was provided by the Relief Committee for > Sufferers from the Fire to provide > all that was necessary for the matron and orphans to be fitted out for the > journey. Free passage to Boston was > provided by the Canadian Pacific Railroad." > > > Shirley > > > > > > On Sun, Oct 18, 2009 at 3:06 PM, Bev Guy <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Dear Shirley: >> >> In the booklet you mentioned is a Daniel John McLaughlin or his wife >> Eliza Baillie (Smith) McLaughlin mentioned among the benefactors? They >> were my paternal grgrandparents and I believe staunch supporters. The >> first Matron Caroline Frost is also in my family tree on my mother's >> side. >> >> Thanks, Bev Guy >> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >> List Announcements can be found at >> http://www.rootsweb.com/~nbcharlo/nblistann.htm >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >> [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the >> quotes in the subject and the body of the message >> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > List Announcements can be found at > http://www.rootsweb.com/~nbcharlo/nblistann.htm > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >