30 PUBLIC AFFAIRS
The County Histories of Nova Scotia
By MARION GILROY
IN 1864, just thirty-five ycars after essays".'. Hants, Colchester land Anna Haliburton's history of Nova Scotia polis had each been the subject oi essays appearcd, and just a year beiore Mur twice. Perhaps it was the small prize doch's more imposing work was publish of thirty dollars, perhaps the chance of ed, the cause of local history received gaining some recognition ior what had its first tangible encouragement in Nova oiten becn a life-long interest, or perhaps Scotia. In that year, Dr. T. B. Akins, both, which brought to light these dis the first Record Commissioner in the ciplcs of Clio in all parts of the province. province, established an historical prize Six of the prize-winning essays (Col at King's College to be awarded annually chester, Yarmouth, Pictou, Annapolis, ior "the best history of some one or Halifax (part only), Cape Breton) were more counties in this province". printed aiter being revised and enlarged; Dr. Akins had been intimately con two were Jeprinted in part (Shelburne nected with the pioneer historians. Be and Guysborough); and;two essaysJwhich fore he was twenty he had assisted Hali were $ubmitted but did not win the prize burton in gathering facts upon wbich were-expanded into full county histories "An historical and statistical account and published (Lunenburg and Digby). of Nova Scoti,," is based. Be"mish In spite of the combined efforts of those Murdoch was his first cousin, and when wri ting for the Akins prize and a growing he was old enough Akins entered Mur number oi others interested in local doch's I"w office. It m"y h"ve bcen history, there are still several counties tl",t the prizc "warded T. B. Akins by (Cumberland, Hants, Guysborough, Hali the Mechanics Institute in 1839 for his fax, Shelburne, Cape Breton, Richmond, "History of the settlcment of Halilax" and Victoria) which are without so-called gave him the idea ior the establishment "county" histories. oi his prizc ior county histories. In The devotion of these early amateur this way he hoped to emphasize the historians to their task was often re inIpOl·tance oi collecting and preserving markable, considering how scattered and the local records of the various counties inaccessible local records often were. in the province and "the local traditions 'fhe story is told of one of them: "To rel"ting to the commencement and pro enable the author to compile this history,' gress of the settlements as well". "I he travelled hundreds of miles on fooL; believe," he said, "there are many young twice he walked from Digby to Halifax, men in Nova Scotia whose taste would getting occasional lifts along the road, lead them to enter on such a subjeet, and and accepted whatever hospitality was if stimulated by the offer oi a small prize offered on the way. Handicapped always for their labor to devote some leisure by poor eyesight, which at last failed to collecting materi,,) for local history him completely, with an entire lack of and biography, thus forming a valuable means, his courage undaunted by dif groundwork ior the more general historian ficulties, he spent over a quarter of a of a future day." century gathering the material and pro His faith was justified. Before his ducing the work, upon which he had death in 1891 fourteen counties had been the subjects of "Akins historical 1. F. W. Vroom In "The Akins hJslorlcal prlze essays, King's College", Nova. Scot.la. HistorIcal SocIet.y. Collutiom vol. 21, p. 35 gives a. partJeular a.ccount ot t.he essays. which are In tho library of King's Editor'. Nota: Mia Marion Gilroy, M.A., 1_ on the College. Halifax. staff of the Pro-.inc:ial Archlv" of Nova ScoUa in H ...... 2. Isaiah W. WJl80D. PUBLIC AFFAIRS 31 sot his heart." In another case, it was Marso, William Inglis. Supplement to Local a J ova ScoLian Hving in Boston, in history of Paraelise. Anml"polis Count.y, Nova body if not in spirit, wbo wrote one of Scotia (1684-1938). Bost.on, Nat.han Sawyer (.he best county bistories :lnd left the & Son, 1938. 79 p. manuscript of :lnother. 3 Savll"ry, Alfred William. Supplement to t.he Among tbe county histories wh.icb History of tho County of Annapolis [by have been printed, many are quito in W. A. Calnekl, correcting and supplying adeqnate. Some are littlc morc than omissions in the original volume. Toronto. William Briggs, ]913. 142"'p. genealogical sketches of certain families who settled in the county; many are ANTIGONISH full of inaccuracies. Because of these Rankin, D. J. A history of the County of deficiencies a selective list of publica Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Toronto, Mac- tions bas been compiled, with brief re miUnn, 1929. 390 p. marks from prefaees or introductions to Largely "genealogical data". reveal the scope of the work when the Whidden, D. O. The history of the town of title docs not supply the information. It Antigonish. [Antigonish, N. S., The Casket, is hoped that tbe list may be useful to 19341. 209 p. anyone wisb.ing to find local b.istorical information from printed sources. With CAPE BRETON COUNTY one exception gcnealogies have not been MacKinnon, J. G. Old Sy
A treatise of natural resourcas and develop DIGBY COUNTY ment.. Toronto. aLion Pub. Co., 1903. Hill, Allan Massie. Some chapters in tho history 337 p. of Digby County, a.nd its C KINGS COUNTY Smith, T. Watson. The Loyalists at Shelburne. Eaton, Arthur Wentworth Hamilton. The N. S. Historical Society, Collection8, vol. 6, history of Kings County, Nova Scotia, heart p. [53)-89. of the Acadian land, giving a sketch of the VICTORIA COUNTY French and their expulsion; and a history MacKenzie, N. R. The Gael fares forth. The of the New England planters who came in romantic story of Waipu and sister settle their stead, with many genealogies, 1604 ments. Auckland letc.J Whitcombe & Tombs 1910. Salem, Mass., The Salem Press Co., Ltd., 1935. [269) p. 1910. 898 p. Story of the migration of the Scottish settle LUNENBURG COUNTY ment from St. Ann's to Australia and New Zealand under Rev. Norman McLeod. DesBrisay, Mather Byles. History of the See also list under heading Cape Breton Island. County of Lunenburg. 2d ed. Toronto, W. Briggs [etc. etc.) 1895. 585 p. YARMOUTH COUNTY Brown, George S. Yarmouth, Nova Scotia: PICTOU COUNTY A sequel to Campbell's history. Boston, MacPhie. J. P. Pictonians at home and abroad i Rand Avery Company, 1888. 524 p. sketches of professional men and women of "The author concluded that it was his duty Pictou County-Its history and institutions. in some measure to repair the errors of omis Boston, Ma::is., Pinkham Press [19151, 232 p. sion and commission....[in Campbell's Patterson. George. A history of the County of history]". Pictou, Nova Scotia. Montreal, Dawson Campbell, John Roy. A history of Yarmouth, Bros. [etc. etc.], 1877. 471 p. Nova Scotia. St. John, N. B., J. & A. Mc Millan, 1876. 200 p. QUEENS COUNTY Lawson, J. Murray, compiled: Yarmouth past More, James F ..The history of Queens County, and present; a book of reminiscences. Yar N. S. Halifax, N. S., Nova Scotia Printing mouth, N. S. IYarmouth HeraldJ 1902. 647 p. Co., 1873. 250 p. " ....the principa.l resources for information are the Yarmouth newspapers published RICHMOND COUNTY since 1831." See list under heading Cape Breton Island. Poole, Edmund Duval, compiled: Annals of Yarmouth and Barrington (Nova Scotia) SHELBURNE COUNTY in the Revolutionary Wal'. Compiled from Crowell, Edwin. A history of Barrington Town original manuscripts, etc., contained in the ship and vicinity, Shelburne County, Nova office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Scotia, 1604-1870; with a bibliographical and State House, Boston, Mass. Yarmouth, N. genealogical appendix. Yarmouth, N. S. S., J. M. Lawson, 1899. 133 p. "Reprinted [1923J. 603 p. from the Yarmouth Herald."