August first 1992 will see a gathering of descendants and survivors of the residents of Enniskillen and Petersville district whose way of life was altered as they hadn't dreamed possible. Sprawling Canadian Forces Base Gagetown came into being and a fine farming community ceased to exist, except in the memories the migrants carried with them to new homes far and wide.

Though I am a recent resident to this area, I feel I would like to help spread the fact of this planned reunion. It is symbolic to me, the forty years since they set forth to new lives. Long ago the Israelites emigrated from Egypt, under much different circumstances of course, but they gathered forty years later to set up a new home, the promise of an ancient inheritance. Those who gather in the Petersville fields this year, will surely be thankful for the efforts put forth to let the younger generation know where their ancestors wrested homes and a livelihood from the wilderness in the mid-nineteentb century and onward.

On April 18, 1992, I made some telephone calls to see who might be able to tell me the names of families who had to make the move into new lives. I was sent to Chester McCann, former storekeeper and postmaster of the hamlet of Enniskillen. He and his wife were very happy to go back through the years and relate the names of those who lived on the Enniskillen mail route in 1952, who were part of the Exodus. If there are facts left out or incorrect, I apologize, and I will certainly enjoy hearing from those who have corrections or additions to the following list from the McCann memories. 

First, I would like to note how Enniskillen came by its name. When the railway built across the property of Barnard MacAloon. He was given the privilege of naming the future station. He was encouraged to have it named
MacAloon, after himself. He rejected this idea, wishing instead to keep alive the memories of the beautiful Irish town from which he had emigrated to New Brunswick. Many, many people came from that fair Irish place. Of late years I have learned that my great-great-grandfather John Rennick came from there in 1824, and it seems unique that I and my family live by Enniskillen. 

Starting at the top of Enniskillen hill going eastward lived the following families:

• Spinster Agnes Butler
• John (Jack) Costello and his family. Son John lives in Fredericton. Daughter Reta Henderson lives in Fredericton Junction. Daughter Emma Richards lives in Boston. Daughter Helen Breen was in Saint John.
• Dan Butler and his family. Allan and Jim live in Tracy. Daughter Dorothy lives in Boston. Daughter Geraldine Crawford lives in Saint John. Daughter Eunice lives in Montreal. Daughter Edna Dobbelstyn lived in Fredericton.
• Edward O'Neill and his sister Kate lived to be nearly 90. Their property was owned later by a nephew, Fred McCarthy of Petersville.
• Harry Bouchie and his family, Mary, Joe, Norman and David.
• Jack McCann, Chester's uncle, had a family of ten; sons Jimmie, Charlie, Clarence and Alfred; daughters Mary, Agnes, Myrtle, Ada, Grace and Ruth. Agnes married Eddy Simpson. Ruth married Les Wright. Myrtle married a Collins.
• John Simpson's sons Albert and Joe, and Albert's family; sons Francis, Kenny, Stanley, Greg and John; daughters Teresa and Susanne. Teresa married John Duplessis. Susanne married Rodney Ogden.
• Paddy Murray and his family; sons Carl, Ronny, Ralph, Allan (lawyer) and Morris. Daughter Mary Ann.
• Ralph McCann married Mary Logue, now lives in Tracy. His brother Barry lived with them on the farm.
• Eddy Simpson, brother to Albert, and his family; sons Doug and Joe; daughters Bernice, Madeline and Barbara. Bernice married Frank Cashell. Madeline married Joe Burton. Barbara married a LeGere.
• George Keagen and his family; son Philip; daughters Irene, Maureen and Alice. George now lives in Newmarket, near Harvey.
• Bob Keagen, now dead, brother to George, married Margaret MacDonald. Their daughter Peggy is married.
• Fred O'Neill and his family; sons Don, Reg and Eugene; daughters Doris and Norma. Don is dead. Eugene lives in Tracy.
• Joe Daigle and his family; sons Eugene and Leo; daughter Freda. Joe lived on the farm where Blakeney Post Office had been, sold to him by Chester McCann.
• Jim Frawley and his family; sons Roy, Bernard and Jimmy; daughters Mary, another girl and twin girls, Doreen and Irene.
• Gerald McCann and his family; sons Cedric, Danny, Philip, Gerry and Kevin; daughters Anne Marie and Shirley.
• Charlie Mitchell and his family; sons John, Charlie, George, Willard, Robert and Edward; daughters Mary, Eleanor, Hilda and Jeanette.
• Henry Butler, cousin to Dan Butler.
• Tim Donovan and his family; sons Pat, Mike and Jimmy. Daughters Mary and Joan. Son Pat is dead.
• Hugh Butler lived with his sister Teresa Hasson on Butler Road. Joe Butler of Enniskillen hamlet was brother to Hugh and Henry Butler
• Margaret Craig (Butler) had one son Harold. Her husband was a barbor in west Saint John. Mrs Craig was the lady who knit hundreds of items for the Empty Stocking Fund each year while she lived.

On the Back Road:

• Jim Eddie Shannon and his family of fifteen; Lena McCann (Ken) of Enniskillen, Mary Mallette (Edward) Fredericton, Pauline Simpson (Albert) Enniskillen, Teresa Livingston (Harold) Saint John, Doreen Lingley (Jerry) Westfield, Shirley Reid (Norman) Fredericton, Rosie and Estelle died young; sons Billie, never married, lives with his mother, Francis married, Hoyt, John married, Saint John, Greg married, Enniskillen, Paddy married, Saint John, George married, Hoyt and Charlie married, Enniskillen.
• Jean Duplessis (Jimmy) and her family; sons John and Albert; daughters Rose and Kathleen.. John married Teresa Simpson. Rose and Kathleen are married. All live in Saint John.
• Frank Gallagher and his wife Maude adopted a son.

On the Broad Road, going north from Petersville intersection.

• Fred O'Neill had a family; they moved to Moncton.
• John Connors and his family; sons Arthur, Charlie, Philip and Louie; daughters Pauline, Mary and Rose; and four other children.
• Jack Breen and his family; sons Basil, Cedric and Francis. All are dead. Basil moved to Ontario. Cedric and Francis went to Boston.
• Fred McCarthy and his mother are dead.
• Clarence McCarthy and his family; son Albert; daughters Viola and Evelyn. Viola Aubin lives in Tracy ' Albert married Elliot Hoyt's daughter, Sheila. Clarence is dead. His wife lives in Upper Tracy.
• Terry Maguire and his sister Margaret were never married. They operated a bed-and-breakfast hostel for years. When the farm was taken over, Margaret packed her bag and walked away, leaving her home as she had lived in it.
• John Henderson and his family; sons Dave, John, Fred, Kelly and Donald, daughters Mary, Helen, Patricia, Catherine and Bernice. Only Donald of the sons survive. Mary married a Burton. Catherine married an Owens. Patricia (dead) married a Brown. John went to Oromocto. He and his wife are dead.
• George Breen, son of Pat, nephew of Jack, moved to Kingsclear. 
• Storey had a family of two children. 
• Paddy Donovan and his family; son Burton was killed at a mill when logs fell from a truck on him, and two other sons; daughters Freda and Helen. Freda (dead) married Lawrence Carr,. Helen married Rawley Conway.
• John Muldoon, across the road from Paddy Donovan, left his property to a bachelor nephew, Tom O'Rourke

On the Broad Road going south from Petersville intersection.

• George Hogan and his family; sons Arthur, Herb, Paddy and Alfie; daughters Ellen, Mildred, Irene, Vera, Frances and Catherine.
• Jimmy Hogan and his family; sons John, William, Danny, Francis, Leo and Jimmy; daughters Gertrude, Evelyn, Margaret and Ethel. One daughter became a sister in a religious order. i@
• Edward Logue and his family; son John; daughters Mary, Deenie and Edna.
• Morris Boyd was married with no family.
• Petersville Church and Rectory.
• Jimmy Butler, a bachelor, brother to Joe, Henry and Hugh.
• Mike Hogan, brother to Jimmy, had one daughter; Mary, married a brother of Judge Harrigan.
• Edward Donovan, brother to Tim, and his family; son Fred; daughter Mary; no descendants.
• George Harkins, moved to Montreal; two daughters; Roberta in Vancouver, B.C., Reta died.
• John Donovan, bachelor, brother to Tim and Edward.
• George Shannon, uncle to Jin Eddie, bachelor.
• Sandy Cannon moved to Moncton area, had - son Elmer and a large family.
• Bernard Maguie.
• The Wrights were a newly moved in family.
• Austin Burton had a son; Joe.
• Fred Culbert was married with no family.
• Henry O'Donnell had two sons; Joe, dead, Charlie, worked in the Government Garage in Welsford.

On the Old Road.

• Andrew O'Neill and his family; sons Greg and Donald; daughter Dorothy.
• Edward Barry and his daughter Nellie raised a boy, Henry Lodge.
• Tom Barry and his family; sons Harold, Ronnie and Arthur; daughter Marlene. The boys are all dead. Marlene lived in Fredericton. Harold lived in Whitehorse, Yukon. Ronnie had a family.

• Note: from page 2: Frank Gallagher's adopted son was Howard.

Chester McCann has a wonderful store of memories of the area around Enniskillen. He related to me a finding he made on the Youngclaus Road, which goes east from Wirral Station and comes out on the Broad Road about the place where Henry O'Donnell lived. One of the older residents, now long passed from this scene, had told Chester of the notable house built by a Thompson family in the early years along the Youngclaus Road. Chester decided to see if he could find any trace of this distinctive farmstead, while driving out this road some years passed. He was surprised to f ind an extensive cut rock foundation, quite intact after long years of weathering. There were like foundations of the. same material for barns and other necessary outbuildings
. 
Cliester's informant told him the Thompson family had been a large one of daughters. When the eldest was old enough she went to Boston and established herself. Then one by one the younger daughters followed her. When all had gone the parents also moved to Boston and the fine big home on the hill was left to deteriorate with weather and years, and likely was vandalized along the way.

Chester was familiar with cut stone, because his Grandfather Mott from Tracy area had been a stonecutter. This gentleman supplied the necessary rock for bridgework along the Fredericton Branch Railway. Chester suspects the old bridge abutments and piers at Oromocto Town may have been his grandfather's handiwork also. So after finding the remains of the Thompson farmstead, Chester was on the lookout for where the stone there might have been quarried. Further east toward the Broad Road he came upon the source, a quarry at the base of a high hill.

I am hoping my writing will bring back memories to readers of the Rural Edition, far and wide. From my response to the Wirral writings and family history I know that the old records are surely needed while there are still conscious memories of bygone days.. I am sure there are many whose families were part of the exodus from the other areas of what is now Camp Gagetown. I would hope that the effort which former residents of Enniskillen-Petersville are making to establish a permanent memorial by their symbolic gathering on August 1, this year, will encourage those whose roots are in any part of the Camp area to try to arrange a like gathering for their particular areas. I surely hope to be able to record as much of the past as time allows.
 

Note: some additions to Chester McCann's recollections. Three more families who lived in Enniskillen area.

Bartley Owens and his fanily; sons John, Thomas and Leo; daughters Sharon, Marilyn and-a third sister, 

Joe Owens and his family; Bartley (above), Pat and a third brother, and one daughter.

Leo Simpson and his family; sons Murray, Richard, Dennis and Robert. daughters Shirley, Mary Rose, Linda, Debby and Cathy. 

Note: Page 2: George Breen had two children.

Now I would like to digress and use the remainder of this page to begin the reminiscences of the early life of my wife, Shirley Eastwood-Rennick.