Do you know Mrs. Myatt, a Bouchard-Burke born in River Bourgeois, Cape Breton?

St. John the Baptist Church - Photo by Cal Shook

Do you know Mrs. Myatt, a Bouchard-Burke born in River Bourgeois, Cape Breton?

Mrs. Myatt was a survivor of the Halifax Explosion and is the person I believe my great Aunt Anna Bella Landry was talking about in the following quote.

“…my cousin living over on the Dartmouth side… just on the other side of Halifax Harbor.  Well she was injured.  She lost an eye and she was badly hurt.  I can’t remember her name…  I don’t know if she died since or not. I know her sister’s name was Marie. But that was a sister to her and I can’t think of her name. 

Of course, my Uncle Joe, they never found a bit of him. They never found one bit of him. That was my Aunt Pauline’s husband.  And they never found him at all, he was blown to bits because he was right on the wharf when the thing went off and they didn’t find him.” -  Anna Bella Landry Bradley, Halifax Explosion Survivor 

Mrs. Myatt is the daughter of Joseph and Pauline (Bouchard) Burke from River Bourgeois, Cape Breton.  She was born between 1889 and 1894. 

The Burke Family moved to Halifax around 1905.

Her father Joseph, a stevedore, was killed in the Halifax Explosion on December 6, 1917.

Mrs.  Myatt’s mother, Mrs. Pauline Burke was visited by G. Hoban of the Halifax Relief Commission on 16 of December 1918 who recorded the visit as follows: 

“Mrs. Burke seemed depressed…   Her married daughter Mrs. Myatt who had been injured in the explosion and lost an eye had contracted influenza and died leaving three small children, and this was a great blow to her.”   G. Hoban, HRC Case #393 

Can’t begin to imagine how it must have felt, losing a husband and then a daughter to influenza, leaving her three children without a mother – so devastating. 

On 10 of February 1919 an E. Williamson of the Halifax Relief Commission went to visit Mrs. Burke then wrote:

“ Called for Mrs. Burke… Child stated her mother was out.  Had gone to Dartmouth to nurse a cousin who was very sick with a cold.”  – E. Wlliamson, HRC Case #393

Two months after her daughter dies, Pauline goes over to Dartmouth to take care of one of her daughter’s children, a cousin to her other children.

I wonder if anyone in this family beside Mrs. Myatt was injured during the Halifax Explosion.   Her death in 1919 appears to have left Mr. Myatt (though he’s never mentioned) a single parent with three young children.  I’d appreciate any additional information you might have about Mr. and Mrs. Myatt and their children. I have some of their names and ages below thanks to HRC Case #393 from the National Archives of Nova Scotia.  Any additions information you can give would be appreciated as I continue to write a memoir about my grandfather and his family.

Note:   Below is a list of Burke family members, Mrs. Myatt’s parents and siblings, their ages and occupation or schooling on December 6, 1917 (Halifax Explosion) The Burke’s were living in five rooms at 19 Stairs Street in Halifax.  Mrs. Myatt might have been 26 at the time living in Dartmouth with her husband and three young children.

Parents
Joseph – age 54 – stevedore at Pier 8
Pauline – age 50 – housewife

Siblings
Malcolm – age 27 – (widower) – Merchant – was staying with family intermittently
Harry – age 20 – “mentally affected (non disaster) lives at city home” HRC case #393
Annie – age 18 – Moir’s Chocolate Ltd.
Marie – age 13 – b. 19 Dec 1904 – St Joseph’s School – 6th grade
Clarence – age 8 – b. 6 Feb 1909 – St Joseph’s School – 4th grade (boys went in afternoon)
Eddie – age 5 –  b. 6 July 1912 – not school yet

My Writing Space

Cal Shook - Gilford, NH

“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”  ― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods

Our new home in Gilford, NH is set on a hill and surrounded by trees.  Though not completely isolated, it has the feeling of being off on its own. A perfect setting for writing.

For my writing space, I've chosen a room slightly smaller than Thoreau's cabin on Walden Pond. 

A small desk with a chair is located in one corner, an end table in the other, with a lamp on each. Next to the end table is a futon lounger.

Whether at the desk using my laptop or lounging back with pad and pen, it is quiet and the space feels comfortable. My mind is free of distractions as my brain stretches to put my passion, bringing the Landry/Bouchard family to life, onto the page. 

My new life, like my writing space, is less cluttered.  I'm writing daily, and with mentor Sylvia Clark providing editorial feedback I'm making revisions. 

Could Use Your Help

If you're related to or know the Landry/Bouchard family, I'd appreciate it if you'd share a story and/or a photo that could be added to this narrative.  To contribute check out last month's blog, The Landry/Bouchard Family of River Bourgeois, Cape Breton.

Do you know the Gibson’s of Cape Breton?

River Bourgeois, Cape Breton by Cal Shook

While in this time of transition, as my husband and I are getting ready to move, I’ll be seeking answers to some questions that continue to surface as I write a memoir on my great grandfather Michael Landry’s family.

At the time of the Halifax Explosion the Landry family owned and occupied 38 Union Street in Halifax, Nova Scotia. They were not alone; the Gibson’s of Cape Breton were living there also. Do you know the Gibson’s of Cape Breton?

Joseph Gibson and his wife Alice, plus their two daughters, Mary and Vernetta, moved in shortly before December 6, 1917.  They rented three rooms: a kitchen, sitting room, and bedroom.  They were making payments on a piano and owned a violin and accordion.

At the time of the explosion, Joseph was around 28 and Alice 23. Daughter Mary may have been around 3 years old and Vernetta possibly less than a year. Not long after the explosion, Alice and the girls went to live with her parents, Andrew and Mary (Thibeau) Robertson, in River Bourgeois, Cape Breton.  One of the girls “had been badly cut about the head,” said mother Alice in a statement to the Halifax Relief Committee, on January 1st, 1918.   Joseph did carpentry work in Halifax for a little while then joined them.

Alice Gibson’s parents were Andrew and Mary (Thibeau) Robertson.  Joseph Gibson’s parents were Thomas and Marie Anne (Thibeau) Gibson. Joseph died around 1968 and Alice around 1926, in St. Peters, Cape Breton

Any pictures or information about this family before, during, and after the explosion and how you acquired them would be welcomed.

Note:  Special thanks go out to cousin Linda Landry Horne for the many hours spent at the Nova Scotia Archives doing research and to Kristin Josselyn Morin for genealogy assistance.

Cape Breton Boys – a life altering sledding experience.

Sled from www.pixabay.com

Are there story tellers in your family tree?

I’ve found that spending time with relatives can uncover moving stories of triumph over tragedy.  What follows is one of my favorites. 

It is the winter of 1910 and the Landry family is living in River Bourgeois, Cape Breton.  There’s a foot of fresh snow covering the steep hill a short walk from their home.  School is out and children are making their way up to the top with sleds in hand.  One at a time and in groups, they mount their sleds and head down the slope.  The air fills with shouts of joy.

Standing on the sideline are two Landry brothers, eleven year old Abe and fourteen year old Leo.   Their hearts race with excitement as they watch their friends speed down the snowy incline.  Caught up in the excitement, Mom’s words forbidding them to go sledding have slipped deep into the dead zones of their brains.

After sliding down the hill several times, Clifford walks over and places his sled at Leo’s feet. 

“Want to take a few turns?” he asks.    

Leo says,” Thanks” as he grabs it by its side and then heads to the summit. 

The delight Leo feels, as he rides down the hill, surpasses anything he’s experienced before.  It only gets better with each trip down.

Then something strange happens.  The last thing Leo remembers is walking over to Abe and Clifford with the sled.  But now he’s running and his mind seems to have blanked out why.   Clifford is running with him.

Reality comes into focus as Leo sees what he’s heading toward.  Abe’s contorted body and a broken sled are lying next to a huge maple tree at the base of the hill.

Winter Tree from www.pixabay.com 

Leo gets there first and crouches down next to Abe’s body.  Clifford joins him within seconds. The rest of the children aren’t far behind.  

Abe’s eyes are closed and he’s not moving. His right leg is at a peculiar angle and there’s blood trickling out of gouges seen through the large tear in his pant leg.

The three of them are soon surrounded by the rest of the children.  

“Abe,” Leo shouts.

There’s no response.

“We’ve got to get him off the cold ground.  We need a large toboggan.” Clifford pleads.

The circle of children separate as a large toboggan is handed over. 

The two teens quickly grab Abe’s motionless body. As they lift, it stiffens.  Abe’s eyes open and he lets out an ear-piercing scream as they place him on the toboggan.   Leo holds back tears as his brother looks up at him wincing in pain.

 Abe starts trembling and says, “Mom’s going to kill me when she finds out.”

“Abe, we’ll figure something out.  We’ve got to get you home,” Leo says.

Grabbing the rope attached to the front of the sled, Leo pulls and heads down the path to their home.  Clifford joins him.  Abe moans as his body is jostled in route. 

Leo’s mind is racing. How can they can get Abe in the house and keep Mom from finding out? She’s going to kill us. 

Before entering the house the boys work out a plan.  They are successful in keeping it from their parents for a short while.   How they pulled this off is still a mystery.   

Once it was discovered that Abe was seriously hurt, a doctor was summoned from St. Peter’s.  By the time the doctor arrives a couple of days have passed.  Upon examination, it is discovered that Abe’s right side has taken the brunt of his run-in with the maple tree.  The trauma to that side includes:  a broken hip, several holes running down his leg with pus coming out of them, and the inability to move his foot.    

Abe Landry at Landry's Shoe Repair, Halifax, NS

Abe suffers greatly in the months to come, but recovers.  As a result of the trauma the growth in his right leg is stunted; leaving him with one leg shorter than the other. This in combination with the damage to his foot makes getting around difficult.   A cobbler helps by taking measurements and a special boot with a lift inside is ordered from New York.   The boot gives Abe freedom of movement and a passion to apprentice as a cobbler.  

Following through on his desire to become a cobbler, Abe apprenticed and then set up his own business.  He became the owner and operator of Landry's Shoe Repair in the Hydrostone district in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Abe ran his business for 47 years. 

This story is dedicated to Leo Landry who served in WWI and fought at the battle of Y-press in Belgium where he died on 4 June 1916 at the age of 18.  

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Special thanks go out to Mark and Courtney Moore and to the late Abe Landry and Anna Bella Landry Bradley for sharing their stories with us.  “The River That Isn’t”, by Garvie Samson was beneficial in creating this short story and gives a wonderful perspective about the people and their lives in River Bourgeois, Cape Breton from 1714 to 1994. 

I’d enjoy hearing what you think of this story in the comments section is below.