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*Newsletters Archive*
| January , 2004 | |
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South Shore Genealogical Society PO Box 901 68 Bluenose Drive Lunenburg NS B0J 2C0 Phone : 1-902-634-4794 Ext. 26 ssgsoc@hotmail.com www.rootsweb.com/~nslssgs Winter Office Hours: Wednesday & Thursday 1:00 to 4:30 PM Zellers - Club Z#: 840345301 |
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PRESIDENT'S REPORT Happy New Year, Everyone! 2004 is appearing to be every bit as busy as 2003. Lunenburg County, along with the rest of Nova Scotia, is getting ready to welcome the Acadian Congress this summer.
Our Society has received a notice from a lawyer's office of a bequest of genealogical work. We have also had several "In Memoriams" during the year. This is a great way to support your Society while honouring a loved one.
We have had several people ask if we were considering sending the Newsletter by email. As Canada Post has decided that we will pay more for postage starting January, we are asking for your input. Would you like to receive your newsletter by email or by regular mail?
UPDATE ON NOV 8th/03 MEETING
We have received the summaries of our meeting on November 8 regarding where the Society should b heading. Enclosed was a note from our facilitator stating "It was great working with such a dedicated and focused group. Your passion for your work is a pleasure to see. I look forward to our next meeting." So now we would like some feedback from you. THIS IS YOUR SOCIETY. Tell us what concerns (positive or negative) you have on any of these or any other topic concerning our Society. We want to be able to serve your needs better. The following are some of the topic headings that were discussed: Mission Statment; Long Term Focus; Programs; Finances; Partnerships; Volunteer Recruitment; Outreach Services; Internet Web Sites; Project Plans; Inventory; Think Big; Employees; Marketing; Market Advertising; Raise Profile; Training Volunteers; Location (of Society); Fundraising Sponsors Corporate. From this discussion we realize that we need to have a five-year plan. We also know that some of you have great ideas and or needs that you want to see addressed. Help your Society, Get Involved! Tell us about your ideas, hopes and needs for your Society. Contact us by email or snail mail. Some members have sent us their thoughts from the notice in November; we are considering some and acting on others for our future plans.
Sheila Chambers, President SSGS
NOVA SCOTIA PLACE NAMES Taken from the Bridgewater Bulletin, 2 Feb 1932
In the current issue of the Journal of Education appears an instructive article on the origin of the names of Nova Scotia. It says:
It may be a matter of some interest to investigate the naming of the eigtheen counties of Nova Scotia.
The ancient name of the province itself, Acadia, is supposed to be derived from the Micmac word which can be loosely translated by field, place, ground, the place of, site or land. When joined to an adjective it means that the place referred to is an appropriate or special place for the object described by the noun or noun adjective. The derivation of Shubenacadie, for example, is as follows: Segubbun, the Micmac word for ground nut becomes an adjective by the addition of a final "a", thus segubbunna - of or relating to ground nuts. Segubbunacadie means the place of the ground nuts.
"Nova Scotia" was first used to describe the territory of which this province was a part in 1621. Land comprising the present provinces of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia and portions of Quebec and the State of Maine were granted by James I, to Sir William Alexander of Menstrie, later Lord Stirling. Alexander made one or two unsuccessful attempts to colonize his new possessions but the name Nova Scotia, and the arms of the province were all that survived of his attempts to establish a New Scotland, for that is what Nova Scotia means in Latin on this side of the Atlantic.
The five original counties established in 1759, were Halifax, Annapolis, Lunenburg, Kings and Cumberland. Halifax County was given the same name as the city, which was founded in 1749, and was called Halifax in honor of George Dunk Montague, Earl of Halifax. This nobleman's title was of course, derived from the city of Halifax in Yorkshire. Halifax, Yorkshire is said to have been given the name, which means "holy hair", because the head of a murdered girl was suspended by the hair from a tree in the neighborhood of the town.
Annapolis took its name, of course, from the name of the town - Annapolis Royal, which means the royal city of "Anne" and was thus named by the English forces under Nicholson who captured it from the French in 1710.
Lunenburg County was named after the town of Lunenburg which, in turn, is supposed to have been named after the town of Lunenburg in Hanover. Some of the early settlers of Lunenburg came from this part of Germany, Lunenburg was part of the Electorate of Brunswick and was, therefore, a possession of George I, when he ascended the throne in 1714. An alternative spelling for Lunenburg appears to be "Luneburg" and the Luneburg Haide of Lunenburg Heath which covers a large part of Hanover also takes its name from the old Hanoverian town.
Kings County and later Queens County were thus names as an expression of loyalty to the monarchy.
Cumberland County got its name from Fort Cumberland as Beausejour was called, after its capture in 1775 by Robert Monckton. At that time the Duke of Cumberland, son of George II, commanded the British Army in Flanders, where he was badly defeated several times by the brilliant Marshal Sax. Cumberland commanded the army which decisively defeated the highlanders under the Young Pretender in 1746.
Shelburne town was so named by Governor Parr in 1783 in honor of the Earl of Shelburne, the Prime Minister of England. The county was named after the town.
Yarmouth County also takes its name from the town. There is some doubt as to the origin of the name. Some authorities state that the settlement made in 1761 was named after Yarmouth, Massachusetts; others that the river which flowed past the settlement was called the Yare after the Yare River in England, and that the settlement got its name in that way.
Hants County was named after the English County of Hampshire, the abbreviation of which is Hants, from the old Hanteshire. Just why this name was chosen is difficult to say.
Colchester County is supposed to have been named after the town of Colchester in the county of Essex, England. The choice of this name is rather puzzling since the early settlers of the county, after the French, were from the North of Ireland, or Loyalists, and Pre-Loyalists from what is now the United States.
Guysborough County also takes its name from the 'town' of Guysborough which is not legally a town at all but a village since it has never been incorporated. The name is derived from that of Sir Guy Carleton, later Lord Dorchester, who promoted the settlement of Loyalists in the Maritime Provinces and who was at one time Governor of Canada.
Digby town and county are both named after Admiral Robert Digby who commanded a convoy bringing Loyalists to Nova Scotia in 1785. Admiral Digby commanded the North Atlantic Fleet in 1781.
Cape Breton is one of the oldest names in American geography. It is quite probable that Basque and Breton fishermen resorted to its coast to dry their catch very shortly after the voyage of Columbus and some authorities believe that possibly these fishermen preceded Columbus. One of the early names for it was Bacalaos, a Basque ward meaning codfish. There is a Cape Breton in the department of Lands in France in the Basque country, so that it is possible that the fishermen who made use of its shores also gave it the name of the place from which some of them came. At one time the entire island composed other counties were formed they were given new names and the remainder a single administrative district, and has kept the name Cape Breton.(this is typed exactly as printed).
Richmond County, formed in 1834-35 along with Inverness County, takes its name from the title of the Governor of Canada in 1818-19, Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, who was a direct descendant of Charles II.
Inverness County was largely settled by Scottish Highlanders, and was named Inverness at the request of Sir William Young, who represented it in the Legislature and who was a native of Invernesshire, Scotland.
Victoria County was named in honor of Queen Victoria, when the county was formed in 1851.
There remains two counties bearing names derived from the Micmac language, the counties of Antigonish and Pictou. According to Dr. Rand, the great authority on Micmac language is derived from the word "Nalegelkooneech" meaning "the place where the bears tear the branches off the trees by trying to get beechnuts." Other writers have said that Antigonish is from an Indian word meaning "river of fish." On a map prepared by Nicholas Denys, Sieur de Fronsac, in 1672, there is marked a "River d'Anticonaiche", which is, excepting for differences in spelling, practically the modern name for the county.
The town of Pictou, from which the county takes its name, has at different times been called Coleraine, New Paisley, Southampton and Walmsley, and there are almost as many theories as to the derivation of the name Pictou.
Naturalizations in Lunenburg County 1854-1859 According to a letter received from Terrance M. Punch, D.Litt, FRNSHS:
"Six people living in Lunenburg County were naturalized by act of the NS Legislature between 1854 and 1859: Samuel Gamage, LaHave, merchant (31 Mar 1854); Issac M. Chandler, Benjamin Franklin Ward and George Ward of Bridgewater (31 Mar 1855); Jacob Grim and Christian Grim, Jr. Lunenburg, farmers (30 Mar 1859). Between the passing of the naturalization act in 1848 and Canadian confederation in 1867, there were just these six. I have another 14 for Queens County and 4 for Shelburne County."
Winthrop on Reading his major work about the Settlement of the Foreign Protestants in Nova Scotia Terrance M. Punch, D.Litt, FRNSHS
No one researching a family which lived in 18th century Lunenburg can afford to neglect Bell's classic The 'Foreign Protestants' and the Settlement of Nova Scotia; the history of a piece of arrested British colonial policy in the eighteenth century. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1961.
Sylvia L. England did historical research for Bell in London repositories from 1955 to 1963. When his book about the Foreign Protestants was published early in 1961, he sent a complementary copy to Ms. England as a thank you. Here is Bell, in a letter dated 3 May 1961, advising her on a method of getting the gist of his massive tome without reading the entire volume. Perhaps it will help you to use the book.
"In case you would like to sample the contents of the book, and are, at the same time, deterred by the sheer bulk of the volume, I may suggest the following sections as a piece of reading that would only be about one seventh the following sections as interesting and quite intelligble without the rest... Sections 1,2 and 3 give an [sic] general introduction to the whole thing. Section 13 gives a bit more (14 and 15 to be added if one feels interested). 16 and 17 give a survey of the guiding policy throughout. Sections 20, 21 and 22, and then 30, I think anyone should find interesting. Section 33 will, I think, interest you particularly, as you will see how some of the material you dug out for me fits into the whole story. 40 might prove intriguing. 46 is necessary for an understanding for the delay in settling the immigrants after their arrival on this side, but you might just take it that there were obstacles to that settlement for a few years, while, of [sic] you wanted to follow that story, you should also read 48 and 51. In any event I think Sections 55,56,57,59,61,63,68 would prove interesting reading for almost anyone. This may look like a lot, but, as you will find, it is only a small fraction, parts of the whole story and not too bad an idea, I think, of its main outline." (NSARM, MG 1, Vol 117 &118)
Since the book consists of 81 sections in 634 pages, and Bell's suggestions amount to 24 sections in 189 pages, this does amount to rather more than 'one seventh'. If one treats Section 14 and 15 as options and omits the endnotes to the several sections, one has about 154 pages of reading, or about one quarter of the volume.
Acquisitions at SSGS -The Descendants of Johann Andres Jung & Anna Engle by R. Richard Potter, by author
-Framed Picture of Riverport School 1936-37, by Max Lohnes
-Various Pictures, Postcards, Newspaper Clippings etc, from the home of Sydney & Sarah Greek by granddaughter Sandra Thompson
-Register of Foreign Protestants of N.S., Winthrop P. Bell Vol I & Vol II, by Chris Young
-Maps Associated with Lunenburg County Family History by J. Chris Young, by the author (2 copies)
-European Origins & colonial Travails - The Settlement of Lunenburg by Paul & Eva Huber, by the authors
-Young Land Sales & Transfers - 1750-1930, compiled by Shirley Goos
-Church Records - Youngs - Lutzellinden, Germany, by Joan Loeffler
-Six Bishop Family Association Newsletters by Sandy Bishop, by Bishop Family Association
-Tangled Roots Vol 1,2,3,4 Bishop Descendants of Horton, by Bishop Family Association
-Old Postcard - Scenes of Nova Scotia, by Marcia Smith
-The Acker Family, by Ingrid Greek
-The Little Dutch Village by Devonna & Don Edwards, purchased
-Before Lunenburg There Was Merligueche by Joan Dawson, by Town of Lunenburg
Web Sites Fort Point Museum, LaHave
http://users.auracom.com/limms
Automated Genealogy
http://automatedgenealogy.com/index.html
Place Name Index
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