Hantsport Stories

Clare Ledyth MacDonald was born on July 4th, 1891 at Alma, New Brunswick, the youngest child of Roderick and Rachael (Simpson) MacDonald. Clare had two older brothers; Dr. Purdy Alvan MacDonald, a physician in Halifax and Edmund Luther MacDonald, manager of the Halifax Hotel. They purchased, in partnership with their father, the property now known as 64 Main Street, Hantsport from Delancey T. Faulkner in 1912.1 MacDonald/Dorman house, now 64 Main St., Hantsport Roderick (Rod, Roy, Rory) MacDonald, a retired salesman and merchant, died in 1918 at Hantsport. In his Will he bequeathed his piano, gold watch and a little money to his beloved daughter Clare.2 In the 1921 Census of Canada, Rachael MacDonald now a widow age 62, and Clare age 29, appear to be living on their own in the house on Main Street.3 Clare studied at Acadia University and the Toronto Conservatory of Music and was organist in the Hantsport Baptist Church according to the Evening Mail newspaper of July 19th,...

Bernard Henry Gregg was born1 on 29 May, 1894 in the Broughton Borough of Manchester, England, the eldest son of Oliver Gregg (1865-1922) and Ellen Manchin (1866-1933). The Gregg family were prosperous and had been involved in boot and shoe making and the leather trade for several generations. 1893 Marriage Registration, Oliver Gregg and Ellen Manchin2 At some time in 1914 Oliver Gregg moved his family including a younger son George Phillip b. 1896 and daughter Dorothy Edna b. 1905 to a new large semi-detached house at 10 Hoscote Park, West Kirby, Cheshire.3 The Gregg family home at 10 Hoscote Park, West Kirby Bernard Gregg was educated at King Edward VII School, Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire where he was in the Cadet Corps. 1908-9 George and Bernard Gregg, School Cadet Corps. "As the twig is bent, so is the tree inclined" He joined the 12th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment as a Private very early on as he was already serving by November 1914. He was promoted...

Number 27 William Street, Hantsport, has been in my family’s possession for nearly 50 years. Its history dates to before the creation of Canada (1867) when it was built c.1836 for Captain Anthony Coalfleet, his wife Hannah (nee Martin), and their young family. Many of the original features of the building remain. The family surname itself is unique to Hantsport and area. During the early to mid-1770s, ex-soldier Edward Barker (formerly of the 2nd Battalion, 59th Regiment of Foot) had been settled in Falmouth where he had been following the livelihood of farmer. He made trips overland with cattle to sell at the Halifax market. According to oral tradition, he returned from one trip with an infant orphan boy who was the sole survivor of shipwreck carrying coal. In prosaic fashion, Barker named the child Peter Coalfleet. He would be raised with his sons and daughters in Falmouth and after the family acquired property in what became the nucleus of the...

Hello — my name is Hana, member of the community of Hantsport, I was selected as one of 20 students from across Canada to be a recipient of the 2024 Vimy Pilgrimage Award, where I had the once in a lifetime opportunity to learn about First World War history in Belgium and France.  When I heard that I had been selected as a recipient of the Vimy Pilgrimage Award, I knew it was going to be one of the best and most impactful experiences of my life, and it was. The Vimy Pilgrimage Award program has given me the rare opportunity to learn about history at the location it took place over 100 years ago. This is a personal and powerful experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life and the program was transformative to my understanding of Canada’s history.  Through learning about the past, we shape the future. In my opinion, this is absolutely essential to creating...

Oscar Chipman Dorman was born on the 2nd of May, 1872 at Lockhartville, son of Charles Dorman and Harriet Smith. According to a 1904 clipping1 from the Amherst "Daily Press" he was proprietor and editor of the "Hantsport Advance" newspaper before taking up his medical studies and residency at the Victoria General Hospital in Halifax. Dr Oscar C Dorman of Hantsport, NS, formerly an employee of the Daily Press, published here, and later on proprieter and editor of the Hantsport Advance, passed through Amherst today on his way to Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he will engage in practice. Since leaving the printer's desk some eleven years ago, Dr Dorman has been pretty thoroughly over the world, having been engaged as surgeon on board the Anglo American Cable Co's ship "Minia" during four years of this time, Resigning this position in 1901 he has pursued past-graduate studies in London during the past two years, where early last year he received diplomas as member of...

The Chesley Artificial Limb Company of Hantsport did more than just manufacture prostheses. According to a 1917 advertisement1, "Deformity appliances and splints [are] a speciality." Charles Samuel Chesley and his wife Nancy also offered accommodation at his "Home Comfort Hotel" for customers while they were fitted and regained mobility. The Hantsport & Area Historical Society's website includes an article under Business and Industry where more information can be found about the enterprise. The 1921 Census of Canada shows four "lodgers" residing with Chesley, his wife and their daughter. Two are employees; Robert Paoli Veino age 28, and Bernice Grace Bennett age 26. The 11 year old boy, Henry Murphy, is the subject this monograph. Henry Murphy was introduced to readers of The Evening Mail in 1919. Along with The Halifax Herald, the newspapers were published in Halifax, N.S. by President and Editor-in Chief, Senator William Dennis. Henry became something of a "poster boy" for the Christmas Goodfellows and Rainbow charities sponsored by Mr. Dennis. Photos: The...

Nicholas Beckwith was a grandson of Andrew Beckwith born in Lyme, Connecticut and the ancestor of the Beckwith families in Lockhartville and Hantsport. Andrew settled on the Bluff Road in what was then Horton Township, Kings County. His eldest son Samuel Beckwith appears in the 1838 census as a farmer with a family totaling five persons along with two of his sons; John Beckwith a seaman with a family of three persons, and Nicholas Beckwith a seaman with a family of three persons.1 Captain Nicholas Beckwith married Samantha Phelps of Lubec, Maine in 1832. They had a son, Nicholas Warren, who also became a Master Mariner. They are all buried in Riverbank Cemetery, Hantsport. Capt. Nicholas Beckwith 1807-1881 Samantha (Phelps) Beckwith 1808-1888 Capt. Nicholas Warren Beckwith ...

Donald Smith Beckwith together with his wife Dorothy "Josephine" (Schofield) owned and operated Don's Motel and Restaurant on Main Street in Hantsport for 25 years. The restaurant property on the west side of Main Street, now civic number 37, was purchased in 19461. Don's Restaurant was a popular hangout for high school students in the 1950s and 60s. The counter and ice cream floats gave Hantsport its own version of an "American Graffiti" ethos. The motel property on the east side of Main Street, civic number 38, was purchased in 19582. The restaurant dining room could accommodate a fairly large gathering. Here are two photos3 of Steadmans Variety Store employees and guests enjoying a festive dinner. The gentleman seated at the head of the table is Lawrence C. Giffin, manager of Steadmans. His wife Dorothy and son Olliver are seated to his left. A jukebox can be seen in the corner behind them. This view from the opposite end of the table shows a spacious...

Note: This article has been adapted from "History of Sports in Hantsport 1900-1950", a supplement to the 1969/70 High School Yearbook1, by Cameron Porter and Richard Rogers, with additions from "Summary of the Minute Book. Tri-Mu Club 1913-1916", transcribed and indexed by Bob Langdon2. The main driving force behind sport in Hantsport in the period before World War I was the Tri-Mu, a boys’ and young men’s club organized by Rev. F. E. Barrett, Methodist minister, before 1910. When he moved on to another charge, the club was led by Rev. Waldo C. Machum3, the Baptist minister. We have not found a satisfactory explanation of the name Tri-Mu, though the constitution does state the object of the club to be threefold: “To promote the moral, mental and muscular well-being of the boys and young men of the town.” This was open to boys and young men between the age of twelve and twenty-five who were elected by a two-third majority of the...

Nellie Althea Greene, age 32, school teacher and resident of Summerville, Hants County married1 Charles Ernest Fox on the 1st of September, 1948 at the Falmouth Baptist Church parsonage. A short biography accompanies an article that she wrote; "Loyalist Brothers: John and James Mann" in the Nova Scotia Historical Review Vol. 4, No. 2 (1984)2 "Nellie A. Fox was born in Brickton, Annapolis County, but was educated in Hants County, where she is now a retired teacher in Hantsport. Mrs. Fox has been writing since 1931, and her many articles on history, genealogy, nature study, cooking and other household matters have been carried in such publications as the 'Maritime Farmer', 'The Family Herald and Weekly Star', 'The Chronicle-Herald', 'The Teacher's Bulletin' and 'The Hants Journal'. She is a member of the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society and its Genealogical Association, and is actively involved in research and heritage preservation." The Hantsport & Area Historical Society reproduced an article, "Early History of Education in...