Dan Johnson, noted New Brunswick genealogy author and publisher, has died.
Willis D. Hamilton, Professor Emeritus, University of New Brunswick wrote to the New Brunswick general email list that he had recently met with Dan. Willis had the privilege of being involved in the bestowing of the 1996 Award of Merit to Dan by the American Society for State and Local History:
"I was acquainted with Dan for most of the 23 years in which he was involved in the production of the VITAL STATISTICS FROM NEW BRUNSWICK NEWSPAPERS. I was a subscriber to the series and received my copy of the last volume (#102) only a day or two ago. From an early point, I was impressed by the usefulness of Dan's work, not only to genealogists, but to biographers, historians, and cultural researchers as well. ..."
For those who are not aware of Dan's work, Dan himself wrote a New Year's update just a few short weeks ago -
"... The project to extract Vital Statistics From New Brunswick Newspapers enters its 23rd year of publication. Last fall a C.D. was produced containing an index to the first 100 volumes of this work.
The C.D. was introduced as an additional service and does not replace the SAE search and extract service. ... By the end of 2004, 101 Volumes of Vital Statistics From New Brunswick Newspapers have been printed encompassing the years 1784 to 1895. The reference departments of the P.A.N.B. and many N.B. libraries will provide assistance in look-ups if provided the volume and entry numbers contained in the C.D. I am looking forward to next year with the hopes that the Newspapers of 1896 will reveal some genealogical treasure. To all of you Best Wishes For a New Year!
Danny "
Dan's extract service had provided genealogists with an every-reference compilation for a surname in NB newspapers from the 100+ years of indexing - an invaluable vital records substitute and pathway to other sources.
Dan's obituary is available at http://www.brenansfh.com/obit_details.asp?obit_id=12167
