Hours: Tuesday to Friday, 8:30 am-4:30 pm
Location: Champlain Library, 18 Antonine-Maillet Avenue, Moncton NB Canada E1A 3E9
Contact: cea-um@umoncton.ca; (506) 858-4085
Access: Open to the public. On site research is free. Most records are in French. To access this archive, read this document published by the university of Moncton. No charge for on-site research. Photography permitted in the archive.
Website: https://www.umoncton.ca/umcm-ceaac/
The Moncton Archives, opened in 1989, houses the institutional records of the University of Moncton and the Collège Saint-Joseph. While the library has two sections, Centre d’études acadiennes Anselme-Chiasson and Musée acadien, the archival holdings are located in the Centre d’études acadiennes Anselme-Chiasson. The majority of its holdings are related to Acadian history. It also carries private records, institutional records, some organizational records local to New Brunswick, and a notable folklore archive. One can access a list of the holdings online through this portal: Collections Acadiennes en ligne.
The private archives include more than 1000 private individual and institutional fonds related to Acadian history. There is also a notable map collection of over 800 maps and a photograph collection of over 60, 000 pictures. The archive has items related to the sociological study of medicine, such as the “Cartes Mortuaires” or “Funeral Cards” section of the fonds that can offer a study of death patterns in the province. Among the private archives, there are records of organizations arranged thematically, such as the section on Fonds Activités-Jeunesse (Youth Activities) with administrative records, speeches, and correspondences of organizations such as “Jeunesse Acadienne” (1984-1985). There are also records related to culture and religion in New Brunswick, such as the fonds of the Fédération agricole française de l’Archidiocèse de Moncton (French Federation of Agricultural Archdiocese of Moncton) (1962-1965).
The folklore archive has an incredible collection of audio-recorded folklore, spanning 4600 reels of recordings from 1940 to 2000. These include folklore related to oral history, language, morals, science, supernatural beliefs, traditions, cults, and superstitions. Some of these holdings are directly relevant to the history of medicine, such as fonds on folk medicine and folk remedies. Examples include the records of Lucie Nadeau and of Nicole Thibault, both of which discuss folk remedies. These folktale records also contain information about Acadian lifestyle, including food, culture, dress, winter habits, education, and occupation. The Bibliographie de l’ethnologie et du folklore en Acadie (2007) is a useful guide prepared by the university. It points to further records on relevant topics like popular beliefs, popular science, and material culture (the latter includes topics like forestry, agriculture, fishing, and cooking).
The University of Moncton Archive also has a helpful list of archival holdings located around the world that are about the province of New Brunswick. The list can be accessed here.