Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, 1:00-2:30 pm.

Stone Church, 87 Carleton St. Saint John

St. John’s Anglican Church, also known as Stone Church, is a National Historic Site that dates from the 1820s and a familiar landmark in Saint John’s North of Union neighbourhood. This presentation is about the church as a site where immigration, religious leadership, and public memory merged to shape civic authority in nineteenth-century Saint John, with particular attention to figures such as Reverend John de Soyres.

Valerie is an Honours History student at UNB Saint John and the founder and current president of the UNBSJ Historical Society. Her work focuses on preserving local history and examining how community narratives reflect broader historical patterns. She is particularly interested in late19th and early 20th century Indigenous Canadian institutional relationships and archival management, and she also competes as a varsity track athlete. In 2024, she conducted research on memorializations in Stone Church, compiling biographical profiles of more than sixty individuals and connecting their stories to the broader history of Saint John. Her research is driven by a deep passion for both local and national history.

Sponsored by the New Brunswick Historical Society.