Halifax Explosion Stories – Halifax Relief Commission Records

Joseph Landry - born 1889

Over 2,000 people died as a result of the Halifax Explosion, and it left 9,000 injured and 25,000 homeless.  

Having grown up in the United States, I had not heard of the Halifax Explosion and no idea that members of my Grandpa Joe's family had lived through this event.  I'm determined that the generation, coming after me, will have a written account of their experiences. As I work on this project, the Halifax Relief Commission (HRC) claim records are one of my favorite resources, giving me a better understanding of what my relatives lived through - before, during and after the Halifax Explosion.

Looking at the HRC claim records I’ve discovered how few possessions, most of my grandfather’s family owned before the explosion.  Each family member might have two pairs of  a certain item of clothing, like a shirt and pants, or skirt.  Maybe one to wear and one to wash.  Household items listed were handwritten and wouldn't fit a letter sized sheet of paper.   

Other information found in the records:

Their ages and education, with some unable to read or write;

Though most of the family survived, we lost four;

If they were working, where they worked before and after the explosion, with one person being in and out of a job because he was needed at home.

Many of the records contained the remark "home destroyed and family scattered."
They were scattered because those who weren't injured needed to find shelter near their places of employment - while other's who were wounded were taken to different hospitals throughout the city; 

One family member, having lost her husband, came down with Tuberculosis and struggled with the decision of whether to leave her children in order to get treatment at the hospital.  She just couldn't leave her children.  Another family member, having lost his wife and children, was in shock and it was affecting his ability to work. 

When housing standards were substandard, the HRC made efforts to relocate.  It would take close to 3 years before they were in permanent housing. 

Out of the families that I'm writing about, only one was able to stay in their home because it was in the southern part of town and the damage wasn't that extensive. This family's HRC claim record was about a paragraph, yet others were from about 13 pages to about 50 pages. I've used information, found in the HRC records, to write previous blogs, along with the chapters that I'm working on for the family memoir I'm writing called, A Picture on the wall.

Two notable books were written using information they found in the HRC records as one of their sources. The first book was written by a woman named Janet Kitz, who having helped organize and catalogue Halifax Relief Commission records, desired that they be more than a number or name, that their stories be brought to life. Kitz's, wrote many books, starting with Shattered City. The second book was written by James Mahar and Rowena Mahar, about their family line and it's titled, Too Many To Mourn. Its about the Jackson family who suffered, what appears to be, the greatest loss of life, with sixty-six of its members living in the section of town closest to the blast: forty-six were killed, nineteen were injured and brought to hospital and only one escaped harm. 

If you’re looking for information whether you have little to none, or just want to expand what you’ve been told about your relative, the HRC claim records might be a good place to start. These records can be found at the Nova Scotia Archives.  Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, you can access the files by making an appointment to visit the archives.  My hope is that some day these files will be accessible online.  May you be inspired to bring the massive amount of statistics regarding the dead, the injured, and the homeless, associated with this disaster, to life, one family at a time. How about your family?