Up until recently, the genealogical record of my Arthurs family in New Brunswick has been relatively sparse, and all my attempts to trace the family back more than four generations have bounced me off the traditional brick wall. From the 1851 Canadian census records for Kings County, NB we know that Joseph Arthurs "entered the colony" in 1833 from Ireland. The Canadian 1851 census is the earliest complete population survey undertaken in New Brunswick. Consequently, information that predates 1851 is sketchy and difficult to come by. A publication of “Passengers to New Brunswick, The Custom House Records 1833,” edited by Daniel F. Johnson and Ken Kanner (1987) lacks any reference to our Arthurs family. However, the passenger manifests of many ships are missing. Perhaps they may be found at ports of embarkation in England and Ireland and at destinations such as Halifax or Quebec City, or even in Boston and Philadelphia.

This is a story that involves the past, the present, and the future. It is also a success story involving DNA, an inheritance we receive from our ancesters, hold for a brief time in trust, and pass on to our descendants.

I wrote the words below in 1966 while on deployment with the Royal Canadian Air Force at the Italian Air Base at Decimomannu, Sardinia, when I was flying CF-104 Starfighters during the Cold War. It was dedicated later to one of my air force buddys, Jack Murdoch.