DATES OF CREATION:
1829-1992

PHYSICAL EXTENT:
5.17 m of textual records and other material

ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY/BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:
William and Elizabeth (Stocks) Black, along with their 4 sons and 1 daughter, emigrated to Canada in 1775, settling in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia. William was a native of Paisley, Scotland and Elizabeth a native of Huddersfield, England. Within a year Elizabeth died. Some years later William married Elizabeth Abber, He divided his Amherst, Nova Scotia property among his children of his first wife and moved to Dorchester, New Brunswick where he purchased 800 acres of marsh and upland. He died in 1820. The Black family members included in this fonds are Joseph L. Black, great grandson of William and Elizabeth (Stocks) Black, and his descendants.

Joseph moved from Amherst, Nova Scotia to Sackville, New Brunswick to work in the store of his uncle Samuel Freeze Black ca. 1850. Within a few years Joseph purchased the business which prospered, expanded, and by 1901 was incorporated as Joseph L. Black and sons Ltd. Joseph died in 1907. The company continued to flourish under the management of Joseph's son Frank B. Black, and then Frank's son J. Laurence Black, and was reorganized and incorporated as J.L. Black and Sons Ltd. in 1958. Other businesses established by J. Laurence Black, born 1900, died 29 June 1992, a graduate of UCC and RMC during the 1950's and 1960's were Eastview Investments, Black's Hardware Ltd., and Westmorland House Antiques. Besides being successful business men, these Black family embers were involved in politics at the county and provincial levels, served their country in two World Wars, and were involved in various community organizations.

Joseph L. Black first married Jane Humphrey, with whom he had one daughter, Minnie, who married Edmund Burke, a Toronto architect, who designed “Braeburn”, residence of Frank B. Black, and several other Sackville buildings. Joseph L. Black then married Mary Ann Snowball, daughter of Rev. John Snowball. Senator Frank Bunting Black, born in 1869?, died 1945, married Eleanor L. Wood, daughter of Hon. Josiah Wood of Sackville, New Brunswick. He graduated from Mount Allison in 1887. J. Laurence Black married Gwendolyn McDonald, a descendant of the Borden and Caldwell families of Grand Pre and Wolfville, Nova Scotia.

J. Walter S. Black, son of J.L. Black, was the Director of J.L. Black and Sons Ltd. He had two sons, Robert S. And John. John Graduated from Mount Allison and died in World War II while serving with the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps, 1944.

CUSTODIAL HISTORY:
Fonds was in the continuous custody of the Black family

SCOPE AND CONTENTS:
Fonds consists of two series: Series 1 (Accession 8510) consists mainly of Black Family business records (1873-1992) including J.L. Black and Sons Ltd., Black Realty Company, Eastview Investments Ltd., Westmorland House Antiques, and Black's Hardware Ltd., and the J. Laurence Black files (1903-1991). There are also Joseph L. And Mary Black files, Frank B. Black files, and files of connecting families - Snowball, Borden, and Caldwell. There are property records (1829-1991) which include personal and business transactions of Black family members, Black family investments records, land surveys, maps, architectural drawings, photographs, and negatives.

Series 2 (Accession 9406) consists of a collection of material related to the Black family of Sackville, New Brunswick: Joseph Black records, 1899-1907; J.L. Black and Sons, Ltd. record, 1859-1966; Sackville Public Temperance and Town Hall, Middle Sackville, New Brunswick records, 1877-1945; J. William Black; newspapers; R. Ernest Estabrooks, historical sketches of Westmorland County; and miscellaneous.

SOURCE OF TITLE:
Title based on content of fonds

ACCRUALS:
Not expected

ASSOCIATED MATERIALS:
None known

FINDING AIDS:
Inventory available at repository

IMMEDIATE SOURCE OF ACQUISITION:
Donated by J.L. Black, 1984 and by Gwendolyn Black, 1994.

LANGUAGE:
English

LOCATION OF ORIGINALS:
Mount Allison University Archives

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:
Not available

RELATED RECORDS:
Not available

ALL OTHER NOTES:
Not applicable

RETRIEVAL NO.:
8510 and 9406

REPOSITORY:
Mount Allison University

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS, USE AND REPRODUCTION:
Open for research purposes. Copying and/or publication permitted only with written permission of the Mount Allison University Archives