Suzanne Rent, a journalist with the Halifax Examiner, has an excellent piece today on one woman’s search for an ancestor who died at a Nova Scotia poor farm. You can read the full article here. I particularly appreciated Katy Jean’s reflection on how horribly Eliza was treated by her own relatives.
In this era of online DNA databases, it is remarkable how much can still be discovered by searching through old church records and abandoned cemeteries. The final resting place of Eliza remains unresolved, however, as so many others on the margins of society at that time.
Thanks also to Suzanne for the mention of this blog and mentioning the upcoming release of the novel. Moose House Press has a teaser page here. Also mentioned is Brenda Thomson‘s excellent work on the history of Poor Houses in Nova Scotia. Brenda’s book is a terrific resource for anyone researching this unfortunate chapter of Nova Scotia’s past.
