Cartogenealogy

09/15/2025

I have recently been working on matching up photos from the George C. Thomas collection with local genealogies (list of those here https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Thomas-77160).. but the collection has QUITE A FEW unidentified people. So I come bearing unidentified people!

George's photos are from roughly 1975 and spanned an area of Belle Cote to NE Margaree with the odd excursion to St. Rose area.

Please comment on the photos if you can give me any guidance on who they might be. If there were captions at all - they'll be posted on the individual photo. I will probably have a few posts coming up soon with other pics.

Cheers! Keenan from Inverness

05/29/2025

While I didn't end up working in Archaeology for very long (only a few years - before transitioning to GIS), Birgitta's work at L'Anse aux Meadows was hugely influential on me as a kid. Learning that there were real Vikings a mere boat ride away in Newfoundland left me in awe. The importance of her work for Canadian archaeology can't be understated.. a true pioneer of the field.. she will be missed.

Birgitta Linderoth Wallace Ferguson
1 May, 1934 - 20 May 2025

This past week, the Canadian archaeology community lost a remarkable colleague, supporter and friend.

A Smith-Wintemberg Award winner in 2015, Birgitta's contributions, particularly regarding the archaeology of the Norse, were extraordinary and groundbreaking.

For us in the Atlantic Region, who knew her as students and from the beginning of our careers, Birgitta was a mentor, a guide and most generous in sharing all that she knew.
She represented what archaeology could bring to the table through fieldwork, exhibitry, scholarship and celebration.

We are remembering Birgitta today and we send with her spirit, a tremendous thank you.

05/16/2025

Tis the season for fish runs, and in honour of that - here is a series of Moise Chiasson and son Gerard Chiasson (about 1975) fishing Gaspereau on the SW Margaree River.

Photos are from the George C Thomas collection (available from Library Archives Canada)

George's photos are so valuable when they catch a unique snapshot of a family over multiple generations like this!

01/04/2025

Inspired by a post from a fellow (Alfred) in a local photo group.. I found the amazing work by photographer George C. Thomas, an American who summered in the Margaree area during the 70s and 80s. I found out he was a professor of Photography at MIT and attended Princeton himself. He took many pictures of locals, including my favourite of the bunch so far, Albert Polycarpe LeBlanc of Margaree who is seen the below photoshoot haha. Just a farmer going about his day.

As an ode to the subjects of these pictures (which are now available on Library and Archives Canada) I have started to build out family trees on WikiTree where possible.

- Albert Polycarpe LeBlanc https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/LeBlanc-19524

- Thomas Joseph MacDonald https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/MacDonald-19183

- Hubert Edouard Arsenault https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Arsenault-3560

- Thomas Aucoin https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Aucoin-1838

- George and Harry Ross https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ross-37285

- Alex Jim LeBlanc https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/LeBlanc-19505

- Francis and Sophique (Aucoin) Levert https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Levert-125

- Their son Patrice Levert https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Levert-126

- John James Miller https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Miller-127549

- John P Murphy and wife Hilda (Syms) https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Murphy-23006

- Joe Kennedy https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Kennedy-25640

- Patrick Hannigan and wife Mary (Dimmock) https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hannigan-660

- Willie Ross https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ross-37297

- Moses Chiasson https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Chiasson-2187

- Lawrence Bennett https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Bennet-1003

- John Joseph LeBlanc https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/LeBlanc-19545

- David and Jim Munro https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Munro-6508

- Hastings Lawrence https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lawrence-23515

This series of photos is just a treasure trove and I will continue to add people to this list as I sift through, and try to join them up with genealogical information.

10/30/2024

Tried out a tutorial from John Nelson maps on Youtube about making a cool little diorama style cut out with exaggerated elevation. I think it turned out neat!

10/22/2024

Fulfilling some Find a Grave requests at Stella Maris in Inverness yesterday. Unfortunately only found 3/7. I fear there were a few requests for older headstones that have not lasted the test of time.

Also quite a few toppled stones, will have to contact the parish to see if I can do some clean up.

01/25/2024

Messing around with some LiDAR data. An exaggerated relief (x2) of Inverness / Broad Cove Banks / Strathlorne / Foot Cape etc.

05/15/2023

Something amazing happens when a skilled artist sets out to create an everyday object. This Mi’kmaw sewing basket, with its hanging balls, decorative rosettes and nesting bird, is the culmination of centuries of basket-making skill. Imagine the patience and attention to detail that’s required to make a work of art like this one. The basket also demonstrates the remarkable qualities of ash as a basketry material. Both strong and supple, ash splints are equally well-suited to fashioning sturdy work baskets and fine, decorative pieces like this one.

https://museum.novascotia.ca/collections-research/made-used-found/gallery/objects/sewing-basket

05/09/2023

06/21/2022

06/21/2022

Today is National Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada, a day when we celebrate that we live in Unama'ki (the Mi'kmaw name for Cape Breton Island). Unama’ki is one of the districts of Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq people.

06/15/2022

I am but a humble editor of the Don Shankle database (original excel table still available at the Lunenburg Co Genweb site). I have been at work for a while streamlining the original as there was a lot of information bleeding into different columns. Birthplaces, ages, etc. in the same column as the individual's name.

If you are unfamiliar with Don's original it is an invaluable "Foreign Protestant" resource as it combined many of the old Parish registers from around the county as well as other records. Absolutely essential for looking up early family history in Lunenburg area quickly.

If you use (or even better download) my copy here, you'll be able to sift through this data very easily! This will continue to evolve over time; an example of this is recently someone had posted the diary of Joseph Dimock. I found that most of Dimock's marriages from Chester were not in the original Shankle (a handful were) so I have added all of these to my copy. Filter by "JODIM" in the Marriages sheet to view these records!

Births Surname,GivenName,Birth,Date,Baptism,Records,Parents,Status,Witnesses LOHNES,John,B,1585 abt,1585,GER,Hans LOHNES,Leonard,B,1590 abt,1590,GER,Hans LOHNES,Jacob,B,1592 abt,1592,GER,Hans LOHNES,Leonard,B,1598 abt,1598,GER,Hans LOHNES,Nicholas,B,1600 abt,1600,GER,Hans LOHNES,Peter,B,1600 abt...