Personal & Emotional Visit

   While visiting family one day, my cousin shared something with me that I’ll never forget. She told me about a memorial she had come across, and much to my surprise, she brought me to a place I never even knew existed.

   There, in Greenwood Cemetery, stood the New Brunswick Protestant Orphans’ Home Memorial. I was taken aback to learn that so many children from the orphanage—children who never had the chance to grow up, to live out their stories—were buried there. Their names, now etched in stone, finally have a place where they can be seen and remembered.

   Standing before the memorial, I felt a deep sadness for the little lives lost, but also a sense of peace that they are no longer forgotten. It reminded me how important it is to acknowledge the past, even the painful parts, and to honor those who can no longer speak for themselves.

   I’m grateful my cousin introduced me to this place. It’s a quiet but powerful reminder that every life matters. 

   The New Brunswick Protestant Orphans’ Home was an orphanage in Saint John, New Brunswick. It began in the early 1850s, formalized in 1855, served children, and later became the New Brunswick Children’s Foundation when the orphanage was closed in 1976. From the mid-1800s until its closure in 1976, the Orphans’ Home in Saint John cared for countless children. Sadly, many young lives were lost there—often to illness—and they were laid to rest in unmarked graves at Greenwood Cemetery.

   In September 2015, a monument was unveiled at Greenwood Cemetery in Saint John to remember the children who died in the orphanage.

   The memorial has over 40 names of children who died, inscribed on its back.

   The ceremony included people who lived or worked in the orphanage, and local schoolchildren, who laid flowers at the memorial.

Greenwood Cemetery is located at 1380 Sand Cove Road, Saint John, NB.

   The NB Children’s Foundation’s website notes there is a yellow marker showing the location of the memorial in Greenwood Cemetery.

Foot note: Now in our golden years, my cousin and I were reminded, during this visit, of how blessed we have been to live such long, rich, and fulfilling lives—so different from the tender souls we came to honor, whose time was far too short.