From the Vaults: Silly 18th Century Names

Reading today's Hollywood gossip sites and magazines, I often find myself groaning at the, ermmm...unique? names that celebrities pick out for their children. Apple, Sunday, Ocean, Blanket (really MJ?), Audio...the list could go on and on. I had always thought that this was a fairly modern phenomenon. My recent forays into the land records at Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management, however, suggests that this trend for creative names has a VERY long history.

Take, for example, Mr. B. Goold, who lived in Hants County Nova Scotia in 1784. He petitioned the government to give a grant of land to his daughter, Gratiana Wilhemina Heneretta Zephalinda Sophia Goold (Nova Scotia Archives and Records Managemt, RG 20 "A" Vol. 4). What a mouthful! The poor clerk who had to repeatedly write out this name on the land documents appears to have agreed with me, often shortening the name to G.W.H.Z.S. Goold. I don't blame him.

Silly name #2 comes from the County of Sunbury, in modern day New Brunswick. Beamsley Glazier, a Lieutenant Colonel, was granted 1000 acres of prime real estate (Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management, RG 20 "A" Vol. 4). Beamsley! I love it

The final example of historic Nova Scotia silly names comes to us from the Dill family, also of Hants County. Brothers John, David, and...Mungo Dill, received a hefty chunk of land along the road to Windsor (Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management, RG 20 "A" Vol. 3A).

Of course, not every 18th century parent was so creative. After reading about many Williams, Johns, James', and Edwards, coming across these names always gives me a bit of a chuckle. Who knows, today's celebrities may be taking their baby-naming cues from a long history of unique and creative Nova Scotian parents!

Greetings from the Nova Scotia Archives

I love history! The project that I am currently working on at Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management, therefore, has me pretty excited. As part of a larger initiative to make archival records widely available for viewing on the internet, I have been scanning, editing and entering data on some of the earliest land documents in Nova Scotia. These documents contain some fascinating stories and tidbits of the personal lives of Nova Scotians from as early as the 1760's. I am always tempted to do more reading than scanning!

This project is also proving to be a great opportunity for me to learn some new computer programs and brush up on some technology related skills. I am getting comfortable with some basic picture editing in Photoshop, as well as data entry and database management in Microsoft Access. I have also learned a lot about creating digital images; choosing a resolution, merging multiple images into one, and preparing images for display on the web.

Below is one of the images I have created as part of this project (Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management Land Papers Series "A", Vol. 1 - Wheelock, Abel).




Enjoy the snow everyone!

Jessie @ NSARM

Hello Blogosphere!

My name is Jessie Bach, and I am the new C@P intern at Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management.

I have a degree in History from the University of Saskatchewan, and I am currently a student at Dalhousie University, working towards my Master of Library and Information Studies. I love history and libraries, so working at the provincial archives is pretty much my dream job!

I moved to Nova Scotia from southern Alberta about a year and a half ago. It's taken a bit of adjusting, but I think I'm really starting to love it here. There are a few things, however, that I think I may never get used to. For example, it rains here. A lot. And the ocean! It's so big, and scary. For the most part though, I think I'm fitting in quite nicely.

Outside of C@Pping, archiving and schooling, my hobbies include reading, knitting, traveling, social media, hanging out with my cat, and taking long walks around the city. I also like to get home to Alberta as often as I can. I'm looking forward to my winter at the archives, and sharing some of my experiences with all of you!