Series 1. Records of Union Branches in New Brunswick. -- 1876-1996 : predominant 1920-1970. -- 17 cm.

Administrative history: On December 20th, 1875 , 100 women met in the Reformed Episcopal Church of Moncton for a meeting of what would become the 2nd Woman's Christian Temperance Union in Canada. Fifty women. led by Mrs. R. H. Phillips, signed the pledge at the first meeting and this number would grow to 150 within the first year. Unions in Fredericton, Saint John, Woodstock and St. Stephen were organized soon after and, in 1879, they, along with the original Moncton branch, united to form the New Brunswick Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Mrs. R.H. Phillips of the Moncton union became the first president of the provincial union.

Early in their history, the NB W.C.T.U. began to include youth in the temperance movement and by 1889 several Unions in the province had established youth sub-organizations. The NB W.C.T.U. also started community-based work including meeting the boats and trains to escort women traveling alone and conducting Sunday Services at the County Jail in Fredericton. The Union also placed Memorial Bibles in hospitals and donated gifts to the elderly and the needy.

Ever mindful of their major cause, the NB W.C.T.U. often protested increased liquor outlets as well as providing ample amounts of Temperance and Christian literature to the general public in order to educate about the 'evils of alcohol abuse'.

Over a period of years, the W.C.T.U. has become involved in a number of social issues. Most recently, in the 1990s, these include pornography, abortion, and preserving Sunday as a day of rest.

Scope and Content: This series contains operational records for the Moncton and Fredericton W.C.T.U., with one file from the Saint John union. It includes minute books, ledgers, legal documents, annual reports and correspondence.

Arrangement is alphabetical by the name of the union.

Notes:
Title based on content.

Administrative history: See Joanne Veer, "Feminist Forebears : The Woman's Christian Temperance Union in Canada's Maritime Provinces, 1875-1900". A Thesis 5271 (Unpublished thesis, UNB, 1994) ; "A Canadian Mosaic, 1874-1974" : a history of the W.C.T.U. in Canada (Series 3 of this collection)


BOX 1
Series 1

File 1:   Fredericton W.C.T.U. - Ledger September 15, 1920 - September, 1976
File 2:   Fredericton W.C.T.U. - Minutes September 10, 1962 - May 14, 1969
File 3:   Fredericton W.C.T.U. - Minutes and Ledger February 23, 1993 - February 26, 1996
File 4:   Moncton W.C.T.U. - Ledger June 4, 1911 - May 31, 1923
File 5:   Moncton W.C.T.U. - Ledger June 1, 1923 - June, 1940
File 6:   Moncton W.C.T.U. - Minutes September 1, 1964 - December 2, 1969
File 7:   Moncton W.C.T.U. - Minutes September 1, 1964 - May 29, 1969 (includes financial statements 1981-1985)
File 8:   Moncton W.C.T.U. - Minutes January 5, 1970 - December 6, 1976
File 9:   Moncton W.C.T.U. - Annual Reports 1876 - 1878
File 10:  Moncton W.C.T.U. Mortgage Papers 1895 - 1943 (document listing in file)
File 11:  Moncton W.C.T.U. - History - (Includes copy of act of incorporation)
File 12:  Moncton W.C.T.U. - Centennial Park Correspondence 1966 - 1967
File 13:  Saint John W.C.T.U. - Monument to Loyalist Women, 1982


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Last Update:  98/11/20