North Cumberland Historical and Genealogy Society, NS
10222 Durham Street B0K 1L0 Pugwash, NS, Canada

Dec. 4, 2020 - First I must apologize for last week posting the wrong name for Patricia Williams Briggins. Today's photo is of Daniel Cameron on the left and his son Charlie Cameron at the blacksmith shop in Port Howe. Donald Cameron ( - 1898) came from Sutherlands River, Pictou County where he had practised as a blacksmith for twenty years. In 1857, he purchased a property on Toney Bay Road in Port Howe. He, his wife, their five daughters and his two sons Daniel and A...lexander left in March, 1858 with all their belongings, five horses and five sleds and travelled the 80 miles to Cumberland County. There were no buildings on the property, so they stayed at the Gordon farm in Rockley until the snow left, and they had built their house and shop out of logs. In 1886, his son Daniel (c1850 - 1919) with wife Maria McNutt took over the business and worked at it until 1916, three years before he died. Also in 1886, Daniel bought the first school that was built in Port Howe and moved it directly across the road and used it for a shop. It stood until 1938. It was torn down and the last one was built on the same site and stood until 1958. Daniel's son Charles (Sept. 1882 - 1958) started working with his father in 1907 and worked right up to the year he died in 1958, one hundred years after his grandfather had started the business in Port Howe. This wonderful photo comes from a scrapbook donated by Logan Brownell which contained annotated pictures from his grandmother Sarah MacDonald who was known as Aunt Sarah in Port Howe. And on the left, is that the first electric bike in the area? We are open until December 18th for appointments.

Nov. 27, 2020 - Patricia Williams Briggins was in with a number or artifacts from the Margaret King School. There was a panel of history from Pugwash Junction, a wooden tray crafted by Curtis Williams, order book registries, some photos and other historical documents. And a few good anecdotes as well. Here are two of the photos she brought - one of Patricia and her friend Ruthie Montrose. The other is of the station at Pugwash Junction. Anyone know who the man is? We are still here by appointment. Stay safe.

I think I have figured out how to add this photo. So we are looking for names, please. The Wallace Bridge school choir.

November 20, 2020 - Fun day today. We were welcomed by Shirley Blair of Wallace who allowed us to scan some of her many documents. Definitely a return visit is required. Of interest were her letters from her twin great uncles who both died in WWI and her other great uncle who was a prisoner of war. Also photos of which this is one. This is the Wallace Bridge school choir who are looking so spiffy because they have traveled to a music festival in Tatamagouche. We are hopi...ng you can supply the names for us. Having trouble posting the photo. Will try again.

Nov. 13, 2020 - Take two. I may actually get this to send. Facebook is such a mystery! Look at the changes 90 years have wrought. This photo was taken in 1931.

Oct. 16, 2020 - We received a box of old books in the post from a man in South Carolina today. His father Currie Haig McArthur had been born in the train station on Dec. 25, 1918. His grandfather was the station agent at the time, Daniel McArthur. This is Daniel's photo. After Daniel died, the family moved to the house which is now Mundle's Funeral Home. The books included his grandmother's psalter in Gaelic and an 1829 history of Nova Scotia in 2 volumes, of which we now have volume one. Our mail always contains the most interesting things!

Oct. 9, 2020 - Newly caulked windows - and we can see out as the plastic is gone - thanks to the village for doing this. Today's photo is of Terry Smith enthralling some students with what looks like a good story. Who are these students? Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Oct. 2, 2020 - Today's photo is of the teachers at Wallace Elementary School in March, 1979. We are missing one of the names. From left to right Marilyn Williams, Jean McLean, Shirley Blair, Kathleen McNutt, Bernice Porteous and the last woman whom we think is a Clark? I am sure you can help us complete our records.

Sept. 25, 2020 - Things are getting back to normal here; however, we do ask that you make an appointment if you want to come in. We are here on Fridays 1 - 4. Today's picture is of the first graduating class of PDHS. 1959 was the year. We need to match the people with their photo. The yearbook says the graduates were Waldo DeWolfe, Michael Hollis, Beverly Dingle, Ronald Hartling, Ralston Hollis, Ruth Charman, Gerald Redmond, Marilyn Little, Ellen Giles, Helen Henderson, Jean Stillman, Jean Gillis, Loretta Smith, Jerry Jamieson, Florence Jamieson, Mac Drysdale, Harlow Hollis, Norma Smith and Gilbert Henderson. Can you help us put them in the correct order?

Sept. 11, 2020 - Good to have a few more of us back and working. If you have any requests, you can email them. If you would like to come in and do research, email and we can set up an appointment. Our summer worker, Patrick, has finished a detailed index to our cemetery book which will be very useful for us. This week's photo is from here at the train station. The jitney collected the cream to take to the creamery in Tatamagouche. It is still sadly missed.

Sept. 4, 2020 - A lonely place today as everyone is attending a dedication at the Wallace Museum for Jim Reeves who was maintenance man there for a number of years. Back to school time and here are the keen students of the 1946 class of the Malagash Mine School.

August 28, 2020 - We did find Gerald Murray's parents' obituaries - thanks for the tip. According to their obituaries Gerald had siblings - a sister Doris or Mrs. Ollie Millard of Springhill, mother of Audrey and a brother Ronald Murray of St. John, father of Ian and Linda. Can social media help us find these people and perhaps a photo of Gerald? Today's photo is from Fountain Road, Wallace Bridge. These are Richard, Maria, Rebecca and Robert Woodland. This family was originally from Ireland.

Aug. 21, 2020 - We are trying to catch up with the email requests that have come in while we were away. Here is one that I hope you can help us with. We know where he lived (Pugwash River Road) and who his parents were, but it would be nice if we can flesh him out for these people. Good evening, In the village of Kerkdriel (The Netherlands) a local war memorial has been erected to honour all allied soldiers/airmen who fell (for our freedom) in the Dutch villages of Alem, H...oenzadriel, Kerkdriel and Velddriel during World War II. A photograph of the war memorial is enclosed. One of the names on the memorial is the name of P/O Gerald Weyman Murray, a (former) inhabitant of Pugwash who’s Wellington bomber (R1266) crashed on June 2, 1942 in Kerkdriel. We have started a project to give all the men on the war memorial ‘a face’. Our intention is to compile a book or several booklets. We have already found much information about all men on the memorial, including information about Gerald Weyman Murray (even his service records), but we wondered if you have any further information available about him or his family. Especially photographs of him or where his family lived and genealogical information is very welcome. If you can’t help us, do you know an organization who can help us further? We can provide you with information too, because our research in the Canadian, Dutch and British archives and other sources has given us lot of detailed information about the bomber, its crew, the crash, the war graves etc. Thank you for your response. Kind regards from the Netherlands,